The Last of the Seven
by Aquamarine Wing
Summary: Percy has had his memory wiped. He has been kidnapped by a god. He has also defeated an anti-Poseidon giant, designed specially to kill his dad. But the only thing he isn't ready for, appears aboard the Argo II, as he reunites with Annabeth in New Rome. Percy has never known his sister, but he will soon find out who she is.
1. The Arrival

**Hi, everyone! So, this is my first fanfiction, so I hope you guys enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians OR Heroes of Olympus.**

**Prologue**

A dark figure melted out of the shadows. The dusky dawn sun outlined it's tall shape. The way the figure's head was tilted, and the way it was walking deliberately but anxiously towards a small hill, it could only be a demigod. The demigod climbed silently up to the crest of the hill, and placed her hand carefully on the bark of a tall pine tree with branches seemed to glow. A light breeze blew her dark hair away from her face, to reveal twin piercing green eyes that reflected in the fading moonlight.

"I'm here." She breathed, "I'm finally here."

**The Arrival**

Annabeth's POV:

It had been too long since she had last seen Percy's face. She missed him too much. She thought she would burn up from the pain of her loss.

Stressed, she left her cabin and went for a walk to clear her head. Chiron cantered up to her.

"Annabeth, you should not strain yourself like this," he said softly.

She shook her head. Chiron was like a father to her, but even he could not know the pain she felt. _For SIX MONTHS she had been searching for a trace of Percy. How COULD she not miss him!?_, she thought. At least with the arrival of Jason, the Roman demigod, a lot of things had been cleared up. They would be setting sail for San Francisco in two days. Annabeth knew she should be excited, but it had taken too long. Gaea wouldn't wait for them on her plot to take over the world.

"I just miss him so much! Why did Hera have to take him away? I thought the war was over!" she wailed.

Chiron put his hand on her shoulder. "It _is_ over. But the prophecy of the Seven has been brought upon us. The Second Great Prophecy has to be full-filled."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Despite all that had happened, Chiron still sounded like some ancient bearded professor from the 1700s. _In a way he was_, she thought, smiling slightly, but quickly became gloomy and tired once more. Nothing had been amusing for her for the past six months without Percy.

_He had always been the one who made her laugh_, she thought painfully.

She was jerked out of her thoughts by a commotion on the hill.

"Chiron! Chiron!" Travis-or was it Connor?-was running towards them. "New camper!"

Travis-or-Connor seemed excited, and Annabeth was half-hoping that a sign had come from Percy, and was slightly disappointed to hear that it was just another camper.

Ever since the Second Titan War, satyrs all over the US had been finding more and more demigods.

"Woah, woah. Calm down, Travis," Chiron assured him, "No one's gonna warn the new camper about your pranks. Yet."

So it _was_ Travis after all, she mused.

"It's not that, Chiron!" Travis was practically yelling now. "She looks, well, unsurprised! She's actually _asking _for you to come!"

Annabeth frowned. Unless this was one very special demigod...

Shrugging, she followed Chiron up the shallow slope leading to the top of the hill.

Chiron was already there when she finally reached the top. It was nearly mid-day, and the sun's heat, breaking through the clouds, stretched down on her from afar.

A crowd had already gathered, and Annabeth pushed her way to the center of it all. There was a girl. Maybe Annabeth's age, and her height, too. She had straight black-brown hair, with streaks of silver fringed around her bangs, which were as long as her hair.

But her eyes...her eyes...they were a piercing sea-green, and scanning the crowd for something...or _someone_. Annabeth froze on the spot. This girl looked just like Percy.

Chiron had stopped, and was staring, with his eyes wide, as if he'd seen her before.

Slowly the girl looked up, and spoke.

"I am Cynthia Starwell, daughter of Poseidon, and I have come here to help you."

**Hope you guys enjoyed that! I will be posting a whole journey from here, to the Doors of Death, from different characters' points of view! :D**

**If you have any ideas, please tell me. **


	2. Reunion

**This is my second fanfiction story. It will be narrated by Percy. Hope you guys like it! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians OR Heroes of Olympus.**

**Reunion**

Percy's POV:

A giant Greek trireme loomed over New Rome. It stayed there, fortunately.

Percy smiled to himself. Annabeth was aboard that ship. In just a few seconds, he would see Annabeth again. _Annabeth... _The only memory of his old life he'd had...until now.

He knew he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. The moment where he would get to be reunited with Annabeth. The moment where he would get to throw her arms around her, and hold her close.

He knew he was an idiot to think so, but he felt that unless he kept Annabeth within his touch, she would fade like mist, along with all the other things he cared for.

"Reyna's not looking happy," Frank remarked, from Percy's left.

Percy looked up, despite the crowding Romans craning their heads to take a look. Some were in their pajama-togas, and others in armor. Most had messed-up hair, so Percy was perfectly camouflaged among them.

Reyna was frowning, as if she wasn't used to being friendly.

Percy couldn't help smiling. He had a feeling Reyna would get along just fine with Annabeth.

Suddenly, a rope ladder was flung out of the side of the trireme, and a kid came climbing down to the ground. Percy stepped forwards a few paces, closer to where the ladder touched the ground.

It was a curly-haired boy, with an elfish smile. _A Hermes kid? _Percy wondered.

Hazel stiffened beside him. Percy glanced her way, and saw here staring at the curly-haired boy. Did she know him? He didn't dwell on that thought, though. _Annabeth _was making her way down the ladder.

In the past six months Percy was gone, she had changed quite a bit. She looked taller, leaner, and her expression was more serious. Her brow was creased in that cute way of hers, as if she were in deep thought.

With some reluctance, Percy looked away. A choppy-haired girl made her way down, and a superman blonde followed. Probably Jason, the former praetor. He was wearing a purple cape, just like Percy.

Once everyone was settled firmly on the ground, Reyna stepped forwards, and nodded to Jason. "Jason Grace, my former colleague..."

Percy wasn't listening. His gaze was fixed on Annabeth, who gazed back at him. There was a mix of confusion, relief, love, and regret in her eyes. Percy couldn't take it anymore. He leaped forwards, Annabeth at the same time, and kissed her, right then and there.

He'd forgotten how much he'd missed her kiss.

He wanted to stay like that forever, with his lips locked onto Annabeth's. He never wanted to let go, but now wasn't the time.

Reluctantly, he broke away, only to be judo-flipped by her. Surprised murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Her gray eyes were burning with rage. It was the scariest thing he'd ever seen. "Don't you EVER, and I MEAN **EVER** leave me like that!" she yelled.

He laughed. "Alright, alright. Thanks for the welcome." It was the same old Annabeth. He was relieved.

Though he would never admit it, he'd been secretly worried that Annabeth might've fallen in love with someone else while he was gone.

Reyna was looking at them a little awkwardly, but continued. "We'll eat here, in the forum. Let's talk, and we can have a proper reunion."

**The next chapter will be marking the start of the journey! **

**I know this chapter wasn't so interesting, but pray the next one will! **


	3. The Journey (Part 1)

**So, this is my third fanfiction chapter! Please enjoy! **

**Special thanks to StellaCastellan, for adding me onto his/her favorites!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus. **

**The Journey (Part 1)**

Annabeth's POV:

It had been so sudden.

Cynthia arriving at camp, reuniting with Percy in New Rome, the talk with Reyna, and Leo bombing New Rome.

Now the ship was badly damaged, one of their crew was somewhere down in Gaea's clutches, and Coach Hedge wouldn't shut up.

Percy was standing next to her.

He smiled. "Don't worry. Leo's gonna find a good landing place, and we'll meet up with Hazel there."

She forced a smile onto her face. "I know." Leo had somehow found the _**nerve**_ to bomb New Rome. She knew he was a hyper, even for a demigod, but this was going too much.

Percy leaned in close, and they kissed.

She closed her eyes, trying to get the feel of...'Percy' closer to her.

She should be happy, now that they were together again, but she couldn't ignore the truth...the fact that one of them might die.

But it was inevitable. There were already two prophecies that had to be fulfilled on the journey. Annabeth reached her hand into her pocket, and felt a heavy metallic coin. It made her shiver, as though her bones were on fire, but in a cold way.

And there was Cynthia. Percy hadn't payed much attention to her. He didn't even know that she claimed to be his sister. She had kept silent the whole time.

It was still a mystery to Annabeth how Cynthia had convinced Chiron to take her on the journey in the first place. Annabeth was in the room, and Cynthia had shown Chiron the small, glass disk kept on her neck. It was when she showed that small disk to Chiron, that he had agreed to let her go.

They broke away, and Annabeth bit her lip.

"Percy, there's something that you should know," she started.

Percy frowned a little. "Like, about the quest?"

"Something to do with the quest, yes."

"What is it?" Percy's gentle sea-green eyes made her feel warm all over, but guilty at the same time. _I don't deserve his loyalty._ She pushed those thoughts abruptly away.

"Did you...notice that dark-haired girl at the table, when we were discussing the prophecy?" She asked, gingerly.

Percy frowned, then nodded. "I thought she was just another...well, friend, like Ella."

"She is." Annabeth nodded, and took a breath. "And she's also your sister. Or so she claims."

She couldn't hold it anymore. This was taking too long. She spilled everything out. How depressed she had been, how Cynthia had come to camp, how she had convinced Chiron to take her on the quest.

He didn't speak. "Did you...did you know that you had a sister?" Annabeth tensed, waiting for his reaction.

Percy shook his head slowly, looking surprised, confused, but strangely unsurprised at the same time. It was hard to describe his expression. "But...but I always...had a feeling I was being watched. I thought that...that _something _was missing. I never thought I'd have a sister, though."

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Annabeth wanted desperately for the two to meet, and have a conversation. She just needed to be satisfied with the knowledge of...well, the truth.

Percy nodded. "I...I guess."

"C'mon, then!" Annabeth dragged her boyfriend off to Cynthia's cabin. She wanted to know what kind of secrets were to be uncovered. She hated not knowing.

She knocked on the door. "It's Annabeth. With Percy."

"Come in."

**Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be uncovering the secrets between Percy and Cynthia. :3**

**Please give me your reviews! **


	4. The Journey (Part 2) Truth 1

**My fifth chapter! Please read, and enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus.**

**The Journey(Part 2)**

**_Truth; Section 1_**

Annabeth's POV:

Annabeth was exhausted. She was tired, and depressed. For once, Percy being next to her didn't help. She was on the deck, watching the sea, and thinking back on the last few days she had been with the others.

_It was pretty much horrible, _if you summed it up, she concluded. They had landed for supplies, and a tar monster had attacked them. After that Jason and Percy had been possessed, and ended up jousted in a Kansas cornfield. Thank god Piper had been with them.

_Piper..._Out of all of the Seven, she thought that Piper was suffering the most. It was obvious that she wanted to be closer to Jason. He was really daft, not noticing that. She meant no offense to Piper, but she'd thought that all Aphrodite girl eventually became really cold-hearted when they grew up. They were fine when they were young, but they grew up, and started forgetting about people's feelings. Piper wasn't like that.

She sighed. They had gone to Atlanta after that, only to be attacked by a bunch of crazy sea gods. Annabeth herself had been challenged by Reyna in Charleston later in the day. It was in Charleston that she'd gotten her first clue to the Mark of Athena...She shivered at the thought, and leaned closer to Percy.

Percy gripped her arm. "We were lucky to have the Hazel, Frank, and Leo back."

She nodded. "We can't risk losing any of the Seven." _But what about Cynthia? _She wondered. She wasn't one of the Seven, but she had come on the quest.

It still shocked her that Cynthia had the power to control the elements and talk to the gods whenever she wanted. She hadn't really...done anything on the quest, but she always had a watchful eye out. She was easygoing with the others, just always holding back. Cynthia hadn't told Annabeth the real reason why she had come with them on the quest yet, either.

"Let's get back belowdecks. It's almost dinnertime, and we all need a decent meal."

Annabeth nodded, and followed Percy towards the mess hall.

**Sorry, but since this chapter is long, I'll be dividing it into two sections. Please forgive me. **

**BTW, it might take a while to update the chapters. I'll try to update as soon as possible, though! **


	5. The Journey (Part 2) Truth 2

**This is the second Section of The Journey (Part 2) Sorry for the inconvenience! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians OR Heroes of Olympus. **

**The Journey(Part 2)**

_**Truth; Section 2**_

~Later in the day, when everyone's in bed~

Annabeth's POV:

Annabeth couldn't sleep. She tried, but couldn't. Images of the Mark of Athena danced in her head. She couldn't forget the dream Percy had mentioned, either...the one with Nico in a jar, _dying_. It had been decided at dinner that they had to get to Rome. The _original_ Rome. Great. They would have to pass through the Mediterranean Sea, at that. It was fatal.

_...And there was that strange connection... _With Hazel and Leo and Frank. She didn't think it was strange for the two boys to go showing off for her, but sometimes, it got a little too far. And Hazel kept calling Leo 'Sammy'. She didn't get it.

She thrust her covers off. _It was too quiet. _She would go for a walk around the Argo II. It would clear her head. She needed some air.

Usually she would go to the bomb bays, at the back of the ship, and just watch the passing towns through the clear doors, but today, she went up to the top, above the cabins and the decks.

She climbed the short ladder that led above, and hoisted herself up. To her surprise, she saw Cynthia already there.

Outlined in the brilliant moonlight, she looked almost like a goddess. Annabeth promptly sank to her knees, entranced. _What was she doing? _She had her arms raised, and all around Cynthia, were miniature...tornadoes? Cyclones? Whirlpools. It was hard to describe it. Some were made of water, some of air, some of fire, and some were of earth. A few had them all mixed together. _The elements..._

Cynthia had her eyes closed, and her brow was furrowed, as if she were concentrating. As Annabeth watched, she brought her hands together above her head, and all of the miniature whirlpools merged together, forming one large tornado above her. It was made of earth, encased in water, tinged in flame, and surrounded by air.

Annabeth felt herself being tugged into it, not physically, but mentally. Her soul, her mind, was being pulled into that giant whirlpool. Annabeth tried to resist, but it was no use. She couldn't breath. She closed her eyes, trying to think of anything that might anchor herself to the mortal world...Percy, the quest, her mother...

It was no use. She screamed. Her mind burned, and she couldn't think.

Just when she thought she would finally have to let go, the tornado collapsed. It divided into it's separate elements and disappeared into the clouds.

She gasped, and opened her eyes, to see Cynthia crouching by her, peering anxiously into her face. "Are you okay?"

Annabeth nodded weakly, glad that the terrible sensation was gone. "What...was that?," she gasped.

Cynthia grimaced, and sat down next to Annabeth. She looked up at the bright moonlit sky.

Cynthia sighed, and spoke. "That was one of my...well, tornadoes, simply put. Hades-Hades taught me how to do it. The soul-consuming part, anyway." She looked down. "I'm really sorry. I should have stopped when I realized you were there. I shouldn't have done that."

Annabeth stared. "You...you knew I was there?" Her voice ended in a squeak.

"Yes." Cynthia looked Annabeth in the face. "I know things like that, like, where people are. I don't really know why."

Annabeth's eyes widened. Cynthia was more powerful than she thought. "Wow...But then, that means, well, you can help us with our quest! Think of the lives you would save!" It was great. A solution to the war! No more demigods would have to suffer anymore.

Annabeth looked to Cynthia's face for her reaction, but she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. I can't do that."

Annabeth was dismayed. "Why not?"

Cynthia looked down. Again. "I was never meant to be on this quest in the first place. I can't change your path."

"WHAT!?" Annabeth glared. "Why did you come on this quest if you were never even going to take part in it!?"

Cynthia looked up at Annabeth miserably. She looked just like Percy with those wide, dewey green eyes. "I'm sorry, but I came on this quest for only one purpose."

"And what purpose it that!?," Annabeth challenged.

"To keep the Seven safe. That's all I'm here for." Cynthia looked down. Maybe it's time for you to know..." She spoke softly, as if to herself. Cynthia suddenly looked up. "Annabeth. I will tell you this only if you promise not to tell anyone about it. Not yet, anyway."

Annabeth nodded, her rage melting away to curiosity. She was desperate for the truth. "I won't tell. Not even..." she sighed. "Not even Percy."

Cynthia nodded approvingly. "Alright then. I trust you. So." she took a breath. "Well, a few years ago, when I was fourteen, I went to Camp Half-blood for the first time. I had completed my training, and the Council had allowed me to help with Thalia's revival."

"You went to the _COUNCIL!?"_ Annabeth couldn't believe it. "You don't need the permission of the Council to go to Camp, you know. And what do you mean by, 'revival of Thalia'?"

Cynthia sighed. "Please let me continue." Annabeth frowned, but nodded, feeling a pang of guilt. She shouldn't have interrupted.

"So I went to Camp, and helped Thalia stay alive long enough for you guys-the campers-to notice that she was alive, and help her. But I had to...leave after that. None was to see me. Zeus had forbidden me to reveal my existence." Cynthia looked away, but not before Annabeth saw the misery in her eyes.

"Of course I was mad at the Council for not letting me _stay _at camp, but they gave me permission to watch over Percy. So I did. I was with him when he went into the Labyrinth. I was with him when he fought Luke, and overthrew Kronos. I was with him in New Rome, with his amnesia. I was with him all the time, just out of view. I needed to watch over my brother."

Annabeth felt sorry for Cynthia. It must have been terrible to live...alone. With no one knowing of your existence but the gods.

"Don't worry. I wasn't ill-treated." Cynthia seemed to have reached into her thoughts somehow. "I was okay. It was just...painful to see Percy, but never talk to him." She fingered the glass disk on her neck.

There was silence, and Annabeth let Cynthia drown in her own thoughts for a while.

"What is that, anyway?" Annabeth asked.

"What's what?"

"That." Annabeth pointed at Cynthia's neck.

"Oh. Oh! That."

She frowned, but continued. "I watched over Percy for four years, until the Argo II was about to set sail. I knew Percy would be in danger, so I went to the gods, and asked them to let me go on the quest of the Seven. They agreed, after rejecting me three times over. They gave me this disk to keep as a symbol of my vow. It has the gods's symbol on it."

Annabeth peered closer, squinting in the darkness.

"Here." Cynthia lit her index finger on fire, and brought it close to her neck. It blazed bright orange.

Annabeth flinched, but leaned in close. There was a Lightning Bolt, and Trident, and a Silver key on it. She had never seen a symbol quite like it, but she could guess what it meant.

"The Big Three...," she whispered.

"Yes. The Big Three."

**If you don't get the story, it's probably because you haven't read the first 4 chapters. Please read, and review! :)**


	6. Departure

**My sixth chapter! Hope you all like it. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians OR Heroes of Olympus. **

**Departure**

Percy's POV:

Rome was bright and lively compared to the sea they had to cross to get there. He hoped it was worth it.

As he strolled through the original Rome, holding hands with Annabeth, he felt a pang of sadness. He was sending his girlfriend off to her death.

They were having lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Tiber River, thanks to Annabeth's International credit card. It was better than most of his dates with Annabeth, because he hadn't made a fool of himself yet, but it was definitely the saddest.

Annabeth smiled at him. "Don't worry, Seaweed Brain. I'll come back." He could see her trembling slightly, but keeping a brave face on.

Percy smiled back. He loved that about her. "I know you will, Wise Girl. It's just that I'm worried." He reached out and touched her cheek. "For your sake."

That was true. But he couldn't stop seeing terrible images of Annabeth's broken body, with blood pouring out of it, Chiron crying, Gaea laughing, the world being dense and dark...

"Percy. Percy!"

He shook his head, snapping out of his visions, to notice Annabeth staring at him worriedly. "Are you sure you're alright?"

He nodded. "I'm fine."

Annabeth leaned over. She looked beautiful, with the sunlight reflecting her blond hair, turning it golden. Her gray eyes were full of sympathy and love, as Percy leaned closer, and kissed her.

_This might be the last kiss I have with Annabeth_. Percy shut his eyes and pushed those thoughts away.

~After the depart and further~

Percy's POV:

Percy was tired of water.

He sighed, running the whole scene that just happened through his head. After Audery Hepburn and Gregory Peck had kidnapped Annabeth, some crazy nymphs had trapped him, Piper, and Jason in a Nymphaeum, _whatever_ that _was_. Now they were crawling pitifully through a drain, which could flood any moment, and Annabeth was gone.

He missed her already, but as he trudged down the drainage, his mind wandered to Cynthia.

She was getting closer to the Seven, opening up more, and even managing a laugh every now and then. She was kind of like Reyna, only less leaderlike. More distant. Never showing her emotions. But the person she most reminded him of was Zoe, the huntress.

Quiet, calm, and wise.

Cynthia didn't talk at the meetings in the mess hall, but Percy could guess why. Annabeth had told him about how she had seen her work her powers one night, and how Cynthia had told her that she was told to not interfere with the quest matters.

He didn't know how Chiron would even let another demigod join the quest so easily, but he guessed Cynthia had her own reasons. He was glad she had come, though. It felt good to have a sister, sharing the same blood and suffering the same things as him. If felt..._right. _

He was getting along well with her, and he liked that.

Though he suspected that Annabeth hadn't been telling him the whole story, but he didn't push her. His girlfriend was clever, and he trusted her for keeping secrets. Secrets that she had kept. Until now.

When Annabeth had told everyone about the Mark of Athena, he could feel a rush of relief from her, as if she was glad that the secret she had kept to herself was now known by others.

Percy wished she hadn't told them of it, though. Because of that, she'd had to go under the Colesseum to confront Arachne and recover some giant statue of her mom.

Annabeth had told him that many of Athena's children had died trying to retrieve the Mark of Athena. Percy knew how dangerous it was, but kept faith in Annabeth. If anyone could retrieve a giant long-lost statue of Athena underground, and defeat Athena's number one enemy, who just happened to be a spider, Annabeth could.

He sighed. Though Annabeth was smart, clever, and a great fighter, he couldn't help worrying for her sake.

Piper put a hand on his shoulder from behind. Jason sniffed disdainfully. "Don't worry about Annabeth. She'll be okay." Piper had probably picked up feelings of hopeless love from him, as a daughter of Aphrodite. He didn't mind, either way.

Percy nodded. "She'll survive. I promise you, she'll survive."

**Thanks for reading! Please give me your reviews! :)**


	7. Tartarus

**My...erm, seventh chapter? Anyway, please read!**

**Oh, and I would like to thank all of my fellow PJ&O readers, for following me, putting me on their favorites list, subscribing, and reviewing! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians OR Heroes of Olympus.**

**Tartarus**

Percy's POV:

Percy sighed. He hated being separated from Annabeth. Even though some good things had happened, like, the rest of them were still alive, they'd retrieved Nico, and destroyed two crazy giants, he was still worried about Annabeth.

While he, Piper, and Jason had rescued Nico, Hazel, Frank, and Leo had run into trouble of their own. Somehow, Leo was looking troubled, jumping at every sound.

Nico was weak, but he was recovering. Cynthia was taking care of him. _It fits_, he thought, that the son of Hades should stick around his isolationist sister.

When Nico had seen his sister, he was thrown into more of a shock then he already was, if that was even possible. Cynthia's eyes had grown wide, too, as if they'd met before. Then, Nico had been taken belowdecks to be 'taken care of', according to Cynthia. He trusted Cynthia, and left them to it.

Hazel was pacing on the deck, while Frank just glared in Leo's direction. They were on their way to the Colesseum, to help Annabeth. Piper had pointed out that Annabeth's mission was supposed to be solo, but when she saw the desperation in his face, she had agreed to help.

_I WON'T be separated from Annabeth again!_, he promised silently. He HATED Hera for taking him away to New Rome. It was just so unfair! He and Annabeth had been a happy couple for months, before Hera had taken him and Jason to each others' camps.

They were nearing the giant ruins of the dome. "Hey, Leo!"

"Yeah?" Leo looked up from the control panel.

"How are we getting in? The ships too big!"

It was hard to hear, and Percy had to yell to make his voice heard over the whistling of the motors as they near the ancient ruins.

"BUST IN, OF COURSE! WHADDYA THINK WE ARE; COWARDS!?", Coach Hedge came cantering onto the deck, looking a bit _too_ excited for Percy's liking. He groaned, and slapped his forehead.

_Coach Hedge means well_, he thought, _when he isn't trying to have 'a little fun'_.

Leo steered them to the far side of the Colessseum, into the parking lot. Cynthia came up from belowdecks, only to crash into Hazel as Leo jerked his Wii controller up.

"Hey, Leo!" Percy spoke up again. "You don't mean to just _stroll_ in a parking lot in a golden Greek trireme and _park_, right!?

"Course not!" Leo grinned. All his recent uneasiness was gone. "Don't worry, just HOLD ON!"

Hazel groaned, and hung onto a mast, just in time to shield herself from the stone walls of the Colesseum, which crashed down on the ship, making a sickening _thump_ around the helm.

They were _inside __now. _

Percy crouched down beside the mast, until the dust cleared, and the noise grew dim. He leaped up and started searching for Annabeth.

They were inside a large dusky cavern-ish room covered in drafty white sheets. Percy blinked. Those weren't sheets, they were _webs_! He noticed for the first time the crumbled tapestries, and the large gaping hole in the center of the room. He shuddered. Some _evil_ was down there. _This must be the lair of Arachne_.

"Percy? Percy, where-where are you?"

He could hear Annabeth now, somewhere below. He jumped down, landing heavily.

"Annabeth?" Despite the pain in his leg, he felt warm and happy to see Annabeth, crouched down next to a giant white toe.

"Percy!~" Annabeth threw her arms around him, and stood up shakily. "I missed you," she whispered.

"Me too." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek. They were wet with tears. "It's okay now. We're together."

After a while, he stood up, letting Annabeth lean on him. "C'mon, let's get you back on the ship."

He started to lead Annabeth away, while Hazel, Frank, and Jason cooperated to move the giant Athena Parthenos.

_Wow_. He looked up. The toe was as big as his head. How had he missed it?

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Annabeth whispered.

Percy nodded. "I knew you'd retrieve it. I always believed in you." This statue was the key to getting the Romans and Greeks to cooperate and bear arms to the _real_ threat...Gaea.

They were almost at the ship, when Annabeth stumbled. "Percy!"

Percy stooped down to lift her up, but she was sliding away. _What the-_

"Her ankle! Cut it! Cut it!", came Hazel's voice. He looked up, confused. Hazel was trying to get down as fast as she could, but her cavalry sword was tangled in the rope ladder.

But after a moment, he saw what the problem was. _The webs!_ Some were still tangled around Annabeth's leg, and was now pulling her down into the large pit.

"Help them!" Hazel yelled. Nico was hobbling towards them the fastest he could. _Where was Cynthia? _

"Percy!" Annabeth whimpered. "Help me!"

Percy reached out and grabbed hold of her hand. It was sweaty and hard to grip. His fingers slipped. "NO!" He gripped her wrist. He was being pulled into the pit now, with his hand gripping Annabeth's wrist.

"My sword…" He looked around, and saw the Celestial Bronze glinting about five feet away. "No..." He couldn't reach it. He couldn't reach Riptide without letting Annabeth go.

"Percy! Leave me! Let me go!" Fresh tears poured down from Annabeth's eyes.

"I WON'T!"

Annabeth sobbed as she hit the edge of the pit. It wasn't just the webs pulling her down now. It was _Tartarus_. The very power of it was dragging Annabeth in.

"NO!" All in one second, they slipped over the edge as fast as it would have taken Percy to slice off a monster's head.

He stumbled and slid. His hand scraped against the side of the pit, hitting a ledge. His body slammed into the cold hard wall. He looked down at Annabeth. She looked tired, and weakened. "Percy, let me go," she croaked. "You can't pull me up."

He knew it was hopeless. He couldn't pull her up. The truth dawned on him, but he wouldn't let go. "I won't leave you…" He whispered.

"I'll never leave you," he repeated firmly. He looked up at Nico, fifteen feet above. He could hear shouts and cries in the distance, but all that was dimmed by the humming energy of Tartarus. "The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?"

Nico's eyes widened. "But-"

Percy closed his eyes, trying to ignore the booming laughter of the Earth Goddess. _Sacrifices. Beautiful sacrifices._

He looked down at Annabeth once more. "We're staying together." He promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."

Annabeth nodded, understanding. "As long as we're together," she said.

Percy smiled softly, and let go of his tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into the endless darkness.

_As long as we're together…_

**Okay, so I know this chapter was a bit long, but I hoped you all found it touching. I tried my best. **

**Well, the journey goes on. **

**The next chapter will be narrated by different demigods of the Seven, so you'd understand what's going on at the 'Earth' side of the group. **

**Please review! **


	8. Choices

**Thanks for reading this chapter. If it's your first time seeing my story, I advise you to read the chapter before this, first. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus. **

**Choices**

Nico's POV:

He stared down at the vanishing outline of Percy and Annabeth. He felt terrible, knowing what they'd go through from here. He's been down there once, and met the mother of Hydras, the queen of the Harpies, and all of the Titans and monsters of Ancient Greece.

"No…" Cynthia's voice cracked as she peered down into the pit.

Nico held her shoulders. He had known Cynthia before the Argo II. He had accidentally seen her help with the resurrection of Thalia, and had met her again in New Rome. She had disappeared before he could talk to her at Camp Half-Blood, but Cynthia had told him everything in New Rome.

Apparently Zeus had allowed him to know, thinking that it made sense for the two 'loners' to talk. He felt pity for her, if not awe. She was sentenced never to love, or to form attachments to deeply. He understood that, but he didn't understand why the gods had punished her so much. It seemed like she was taking Percy's curse in being born upon herself to save him from the pain.

She was very loyal, no doubt. He couldn't ignore that.

The other thing he couldn't ignore was his closeness to Cynthia. She had taken care of him and healed him with some kind of magic she learned from Apollo.

Apparently she had told Percy of her powers, but not all of them. "I have more curses than powers," was her saying. "It's nothing to be amazed at."

Cynthia stiffened beside him, as if uncomfortable by his thoughts. He cursed silently. Cynthia could pretty much do anything, including read his thoughts.

"Sorry," she mumbled, and drew away. Nico stood up. "We have to get back to the ship."

Cythia looked up with her eyes brimming with tears. It hurt to see her with that expression. "No. I can't go," she said shakily.

"What? Why?" He didn't get it. If she didn't come with them, what was she planning to do? _And some people call _me_ mysterious!_

Cynthia looked down into the pit again. "I have to go down there. I have to follow them."

"WHAT!?" It didn't make sense.

"I'm sorry, but you should know of all people that I only came on this quest to protect my brother." A tear rolled down her cheek. Nico was shocked. Cynthia _never _cried. She had learned not to show her emotions, but if she was that depressed…

"Even if it meant… Sacrificing myself for it." Cynthia looked up. "Don't try to stop me. I just need you to tell the others where I've gone. Don't tell them why. Make up an excuse about me falling in."

"But you can fl-"

"Hush, Nico." Cynthia's sea-green eyes were soft. Her black hair, brown at the tips, danced on the breeze coming from outside. "The others don't know about my powers. Yet."

Nico sighed. "Alright." He couldn't help leaning in and touching her face. "Promise me you'll be careful." He knew that she couldn't love, but he couldn't help feeling an attachment to her.

Cynthia nodded, and stepped up to the edge of the pit. Nico realized for the first time how beautiful Cynthia actually was. He features were perfectly outlined against the fading sunlight, shining in through the hole the Argo II had created. Her midnight-black hair was blown back. "I can't promise, though," she said, and closed her eyes to let gravity overtake her.

Nico saw her off. It hurt to know that she could have stopped her own fall with her power over wind, and air, but didn't. She was risking herself to save her brother.

"I"ll be there, Nico. Don't worry," her thoughts reached his, clouding his emotions.

"I trust you, Cynthia," he whispered, as a tear trickled down his face. "I trust you."

**Well, sorry if some of you found that a little confusing, but I hope you liked it! **

**Please review! **


	9. The Depths

**Well, I'm back again! I'd like to thank all the readers who...well, read. **

**Here is chapter nine. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians OR Heroes of Olympus. **

**The Depths**

Annabeth's POV:

Annabeth sobbed silently. She couldn't believe her luck. It was unimaginably bad.

Percy wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey, hey. Don't cry. It'll be okay." She knew he was trying to make an effort to keep her spirits up, but it was hopeless. She knew that.

"We just have to walk a little farther, and we'll reach Hades's palace." Cynthia was now crouching beside them. She looked tired and battered. Annabeth felt guilty whenever she saw Cynthia's face. She had thrown herself into Tartarus to keep her brother, Percy, safe.

Annabeth sighed. "But how many more battles will be fought, and how many more times will we almost fail to get there?"

It had been plain torture since the fall into Tartarus from the Colesseum. It felt like _ages _ago, though it had been only two days. She was tired, and hadn't washed since. Percy was no better. His hair was even more messier than usual, and there were bags under his eyes.

"Let's get moving, before the automaton gets us." She got to her feet and did what she could to comb through her ratty hair, sighing once more. Tartarus was terrible, though they were not even in the heart of it. She, Cynthia, and Percy had been fighting monsters and escaping spirits ever since they'd got here. Cynthia had been a great help, risking herself for them.

They had decided to head away from Tartarus, and seek help from Hades in his palace.

Percy's sister used a dagger-sword thing made of Celestial Bronze, like any other demigod. She rarely used it, but that didn't mean she was bad. There was no need to use it, was the thing. With a flick of her wrist she would conjour up a medium-sized flaming tornado, or cause a flood of Earth.

They trudged along. They were getting attacked by monsters every 5 minutes here, and Gaea kept taunting them. But the worst part was the _visions_.

Visions of her family, dead. Visions of Percy, drowning. Visions of Mount Olympus crumbling to dust...

They were terrible. She couldn't fight them. She knew Percy was being affected, too. Sometimes he would clutch his head and moan. Annabeth would do the same, but it would be know use. Every step pierced her heart.

Cynthia, of course, was unaffected. Even for a demigod, she had amazing power, and would press her fingers to whoever's temple to clear their minds once in a while. Some kind of mind...charm. She was the only thing that kept them going.

Percy's sister would also heal serious injuries, like Annabeth's ankle, which she broke in the lair of Arachne. It had completely healed now.

Annabeth halted. "The dragon's coming." The golden dragon was their latest problem. She had read somewhere that it was a automaton made by Hephaestus. "I didn't know that Hephaestus made evil robots," were Percy's words. "He did," she had answered. Sometimes Hades asks him to make automated tortures. Hephaestus also threw his most dangerous out-of-control creations into Tartarus, too. Great.

Percy turned around. "We have to get rid of it," he decided.

Annabeth nodded. "We can't have them chasing us around any longer." She winced as another vision entered her mind. _Gaea's won...Olympus has crumbled...Percy's dead...We're too late..._ she shook her head. It was just a vision, no matter how real it seemed...

Percy smiled, and squeezed her hand once. He had done this a lot, since they came to the Underworld. It gave her comfort, and strength.

"We can't strike it down with our swords. We'll just tire," Cynthia murmured thoughtfully. The dragon was getting closer. This was nothing like Leo's friendly headmast, Festus. This was a dangerous, run-for-your-life killing machine.

Percy nodded. "It's metal won't get pierced, either. What about melt it?"

"That won't work." They didn't have Greek fire, and normal flames wouldn't hurt the creations of Hephaestus.

"What about Cynthia melts it with her power-fire, and we distract it?" Annabeth turned to Cynthia. "Your element fire can melt it, right?"

Cynthia nodded. "I just need time." Though she looked exhausted from using her powers over and over again, Cynthia nodded determinedly. "I can do it."

Percy gripped his pen, which had reappeared in his pocket. Annabeth envied him. Her dagger was special to her, but there was nothing magical about it. If she lost it, it would be lost forever.

"Let's go."

The dragon was within sight now. The coal-black ground shook with each step it took. It's red eyes glared menacingly, and it's gold scales glittered, reflecting the color of blood.

Annabeth stood her ground, gathering courage from the presence of Percy next to her. Visions raced in her head, and she moaned slightly. _No...Not now!_ She couldn't risk losing her concentration now!

Together, she, Percy, and Cynthia braced themselves for the automaton's power.

**I'm sorry, but this chapter is like, really really long, so I'll divide into two chapters. Real sorry for the inconvenience. **

**Please post! **


	10. The Battle

**This is the second section of 'The Depths'. As for the readers who clicked 'Last of the Seven' and visited this page, I highly recommend reading 'The Arrival', my first chapter, first. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus. **

**The Battle**

Percy's POV:

Percy stood his ground, gathering courage from the presence of Annabeth next to him. Terrifying visions raced in his head, but he grit his teeth and tried to hang onto reality. _No...Not now!_ He couldn't risk losing his concentration now!

Tartarus was terrible. Ever since he and Annabeth had been pulled into Tartarus by Arachne, he had seen terrible visions. He now knew what Nico meant, by 'the worst and most terrible place I have ever been.' Tartarus was built to shatter the mind and ensnare the soul to the Underworld forever, to never leave, _ever_.

Cynthia, his sister, had helped them. A lot. She had thrown herself into Tartarus to protect him and Annabeth. With that, she had earned Annabeth's eternal respect, he could see that.

He felt guilty, though, seeing Cynthia. She had put herself in a terrible position. She was the most drained of energy out of the three of them, protecting them all the time.

The automaton stopped in front of them. Cruel red light flickered off it's golden sclaes. Cynthia flinched in the corner of Percy's eye.

"NOW!" He leaped forwards, and Annabeth followed. He loved Annabeth. She had so much courage. No matter what happened, he knew that she would always stand by his side and support him.

The automaton turned towards him, and it seemed to sneer. _You think you can win? Think again, little demigod... _He knew, somehow, that Gaea was watching them. Speaking to his soul through this..._monster_.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his sister summoning a blast of white elemental flame. It was astonishing. Not only as a daughter of Poseidon could she control water, but she could also bid the elements; air, water, earth, and fire to obey her.

_Concentrate!_ His conscience threw her back into the battle. He dodged from side to side, avoiding the automaton's dagger-sharp claws. The five claws on it's right front leg were tipped with Imperial Gold. The claws on it's left front leg was iron. _If only Leo were here, he could hot-wire this thing..._

He aimed a couple of blows, but Riptide just bounced off of the dragon's scaly armor. Hephaestus's broken creation; one of the many that had become too dangerous to contain, seemed invincible!

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his leg He looked down. Blood was flowing out from his left thigh. _And I didn't even see it strike!_

The dragon suddenly stopped it's attacks. Percy turned, startled. _A trick?_

NO! The dragon was now turning on Annabeth. She was unaware, busily dodging his spiky tail. "Annabeth! Look out!"

Annabeth turned, and swerved to barely avoid a killer blow from it's spiky tail. She was frantic. The dragon opened it's mouth, and a white-hot flame shot out, singing his girlfriend's arm. She cried out in pain, and her dagger skidded away.

Annabeth! Percy leaped forwards, blocking a blow from the dragon to the defenseless Annabeth.

"Thanks," she breathed, and hobbled to her dagger. Picking it up, she started fighting once again. She was fighting back an expression of horrifying pain, he could tell.

She kept fighting, distracting it from Cynthia, who was slowly melting it's armor. _She needs more time!_ He kept up the distractions. Whenever the automaton swerved to face his sister, he would climb onto it's searing hot metal back to get it's attention, only to be thrown off brutally. Ouch. It hurt when it did that, but it was the only way.

He wouldn't burn so easily as Annabeth, with the water running through his veins and in his blood.

"It's not working!" Percy whipped around at Annabeth's voice, to see her dragging herself towards him.

"Are you okay?" She looked pale, and was bleeding, as she collapsed at his feet. She nodded, but said nothing. _I have to protect her._ Percy started fighting for Annabeth, blocking the blows fromt the dragon's tail and talons.

"We need to think up a different distraction!" Percy fought with his powers, blasting the dragon's eyes with seawater, blinding it temporarily. He couldn't keep this up. Every bit of water he summoned was draining his energy, bit by bit. Soon he would be defenseless, and weakened. _At least I'll be with Annabeth..._

He kept fighting, seeing Cynthia in the corner of his eye, gave him extra strength.

_Think of something, Annabeth! _Percy was desperate for one of Annabeth's brilliant plans. She'd never failed him before. _Don't fail me now, _**please**_!_

"Well, obviously, we can't keep this up. It's fast and nimble, despite it's size. It won't tire, and it has separate sensors injected into every part of it's body, so we can't sneak up on it." Annabeth had started her thoughts. That was important. He worked harder, growing more and more daring.

Daring...but desperate.

Cynthia now regrouped with them. She was throwing fire at the dragon, but it was only affecting it slowly. He took a sideways glance at her. Her shoulder-length black-brown hair was seared at the tips, and her face was covered in soot and grit. Her jeans and T-shirt were tattered at the rims, and her whole body was cut and bleeding. Nevertheless, she kept on fighting, with a determined expression on her face.

"We can't cover it in water, or it'll oppose Cynthia's fire, and that'll be no use..." Annabeth was suffering, he knew that. The visions were affecting her more than him. _She's felt Tartarus's immense power when she fought Arachne..._

Percy was dodging strikes now, not attacking. His bad legged pulsed, and throbbed. It hurt like mad, but he ignored the pain.

The dragon wasn't tiring! "So what do we do!?" He was gasping for breath as he protected Annabeth from the continuous blast of strikes.

"I got it!" Annabeth's eyes suddenly cleared, and she looked excited. "_Encase_ it in water! Cynthia, you keep heating the metal! Percy! Encase the dragon in water, but leave a hole for Cynthia to use to heat it the dragon! Keep it blinded!"

Newfound energy ran through his body. This would work. He dropped Riptide at his feet and raised his arms, summoning water. Cynthia raised her arms as well and kept summoning more and more flames. Fire and Water. This HAD to work! He created a bubble of water around the dragon, making it so that it would following it everywhere, and blur it's vision.

The automated dragon stomped around, weakening and melting. It's head grew distorted, and it's scales grew white, starting to glow blindingly. Percy kept summoning more and more water. _I can't be distracted...I can't be distracted..._

Cynthia and he stood their ground. He could hear Annabeth whimpering a little while away, and concentrated harder. _This was for her..._

The golden dragon was weakening, and Percy groaned with effort to keep the bubble going.

Suddenly the dragon grabbed Percy, in a last desperate attempt to kill. His water casing collapsed, but there was no longer a need for it. The dragon dragged Percy under it's melting golden head, and he struggled to go free. It was no use. He was strapped on tight. The dragon lifted it's front leg to strike, and Percy blinked slowly. He wouldn't fight now. He couldn't.

Everything started happening in slow motion. Someone was screaming, but he couldn't make out who it was. "NO! PERCY!" Annabeth! He could hear her clearly now. He could almost see her, lunging forwards, trying to take the blow for herself. No, Annabeth. You have to let go...You can't save me now-

Something crashed into his side with such force he slipped out of the dragon's grasp. He tumbled out away from the heat, and flopped down on the cold, hard ground. He struggled up to see, ignoring the black spots that danced in front of his eyes.

Fire, no longer needing Cynthia's fueling, blazed along the dragon's spine, melting it's Celestial Bronze back, as Cynthia threw herself under the dragon's talons. The dragon missed, but it's gold-tipped claws brushed Cynthia's left cheek with before it collapsed, for it's now-molten once-was golden scales engulfing it's body, and sealing it's jaws, eyes, and head, forever.

Percy stared, and blinked into a world of unconsciousness.

**Really really really really sorry, but this chapter is REAL long. **

**Please post, and give me your reviews! :)**


	11. The Underworld

**Third section of the...erm, chapter from before. **

**Please read, and review! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus. **

**The Underworld**

Percy's POV:

"Percy? Percy!" Someone was calling his name. He opened his eyes, and saw Annabeth staring down at him worriedly. Her golden curls hang limply down the side of her face, and she had a cut on her cheek, her lips, across her nose...

He sat up shakily, and looked around. He had only been unconscious for a few moments. The gold and bronze...The only remnants of the automated dragon that had attacked them-bubbled into a pool, and seeped into the rocks. Where was Cynthia? He needed to find his sister. His leg still burned.

"Don't worry. I'm just winded. Check...check on Cynthia," he croaked. Annabeth started stumbling towards the opposite direction of the dragon, a little further from it than Percy. He swerved around and followed, crawling and dragging his body behind him.

Annabeth righted Cynthia, who was splayed out on her side against the ground, so she was facing upwards. She gasped in horror. "Oh, Percy..."

Percy was so shocked he forgot his own pain. There were three large gashes streaked across his sister's left cheek. The were embedded deep into her skin in gold, from the dragon's claws.

"She took that blow for me..." he whispered. He reached out and touched Cynthia's cheek. She coughed, and opened her eyes, to show sea-green eyes to match his own.

"Percy..." Cynthia sat up with effort. She was shivering, but not because she was cold. His sister was frightened. Yet, she had thrown herself into the automated dragon's, knocking Percy away. _To protect you..._ Her words echoed back to him.

"Thank you, Cynthia." He could never repay his sister...

His sister who had thrown herself into Tartarus after him and Annabeth in the lair of Arachne.

His sister who claimed to be able to control more than just water.

His sister he didn't even know existed...until now.

"Don't-don't worry. I'll be okay." Cynthia shuffled a bit, and turned to look at Annabeth. "We need to keep moving. Here, let me treat you."

Percy almost laughed out loud. Cynthia, the most injured of them all, _treat_ him and Annabeth? He opened his mouth to say something, but clamped it shut again as Annabeth's skin started to...heal.

Cynthia had pressed her fingertips on Annabeth's forehead, and from there, color started to return to Annabeth's face, and cuts started to heal. Her hair, her clothes, and her burn didn't heal, but other than that, all of Annabeth's minor scratches just...disappeared.

"I didn't tell you before. I'm sorry."

Percy gawked.

Cynthia continued. "I can heal things with my touch. Some magic Apollo taught me during my four years of training with the gods. I'm much more than an Avatar."

Boy, his sister was strange. Strange, but kinda cool. Cynthia had been separated from Percy for seventeen years. She had spent ten years on the run, then been trained by the gods to grow and nurture her power of being able to control the elements.

Percy tried to say something, but a stupid question just slipped out. "What's-what's an Avatar?"

Annabeth answered for her. "An Avatar, is another word used to describe a being who can harness the elements, and tame them to obey the Avatar. It's not a skill you can gain."

"I already know _that_..." Percy mumbled as Cynthia turned to him and pressed her forefingers to his forehead.

Instantly a sweet warm feeling filled him and cleared out the terrible visions. He couldn't even remember what they were anymore. He could feel the blood drying up and dissolving from his face.

As suddenly as the feeling overtook him, it was gone. Even though his knee still burned from where the automated dragon had spiked him, everywhere else felt perfectly fine. He looked over at Annabeth, and saw her smiling at him a little. He felt new energy course through him.

"Wait. Can you heal my left leg? The dragon spiked me there." He showed his gashed skin to Cynthia, but she shook her head.

"You're still to weak to experience too much energy. It's for your own safety. That's why I didn't heal Annabeth's burned arm, either."

"Oh-okay." Even though he was thankful to Cynthia for saving his life, he was disappointed to hear that. They wouldn't exactly be starting fresh.

Annabeth stood up but collapsed. "What about you? Aren't _you_ hurt?"

Cynthia softly touched her left cheek and didn't answer. Percy winced. She had gotten that scar by trying to save _his_ life.

"Can't you heal that? It's not too deep." Annabeth's voice broke into his guilty thoughts.

Cynthia shook her head again. "The Imperial gold is embedded deep into my skin now. The dragon's talons drove it in too deep to take it out. A think layer of my skin is covering it now, and that's all I can do."

"Oh." Annabeth's voice suddenly grew quiet.

Cynthia didn't look saddened, or regretful. "I'll go scout ahead. You two stay here for a while."

Percy nodded, being too tired to argue. He stared at Cynthia's back, as she slunk into the shadows of Tartarus.

"Percy." Annabeth's voice came from his arms. "I'm scared. I don't think it's wise for your sister to go out alone."

Percy looked down at her gray eyes, held her close. "It'll be okay. She's just scouting." Percy leaned over, drinking in Annabeth's scent.

"We made it this far. We'll make it till the end," Percy said. Annabeth stared up at him, blinked once, and kissed him.

Percy kissed her back. It was a long and pleasurable kiss. He and Annabeth hadn't been able to have a kiss like this since...since Rome, when Annabeth had disappeared down underground to find the Mark of Athena.

He held her cheek softly, and felt fresh tears wet his fingers. He closed his eyes, and reluctantly, both of them broke away.

Annabeth smiled a little. "I've missed your kiss."

Percy nodded, and grinned. "I promise you, when this is all over, we'll have the best kiss there ever was."

He was glad to see Annabeth smiling once again. He felt secure with Annabeth and her smile. _As long as we're together, everything will be okay..._

**The next chapter will be from the 'Earth' side of the Seven crew. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	12. The First Gate

**It's a challenge to imagine what Tartarus and the Doors of Death must be like, but I'm doing my best. Please read, and review! Hope you like it! **

**The First Gate**

Leo's POV:

Leo clutched his head and moaned silently. Everything was going wrong. The ship was falling apart, bit by bit. With no fuel supplies, and with a limited date to get to the Doors of Death, he hadn't had time to fix it up.

Leo sighed. For three days the crew of...six demigods had been traveling nonstop, and struggling to make it to the Doors of Death. Leo missed Annabeth. She would have been able to work something out. Some brilliant plan so that they'd keep moving but get the ship fixed up again.

Leo blamed himself for the fact that Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus. He had broken open the cookie, and payed a price much worse than an eye. Ethan Nakamura was lucky. Leo was not.

Nico came out onto the deck and stared out. Leo watched out of the corner of his eye. The black-clothed demigod had been doing this a lot these days. Leo suspected that he missed Cynthia, Percy's sister, more than he let on. It was strange, seeing him.

Leo was the only one in the crew of now-nine demigods that didn't have a girlfriend. Jason had Piper, Hazel had Frank, Percy had Annabeth, and Nico and Cynthia were...close. Leo had no-one.

_That's all I am_, he thought bitterly. _A seventh wheel, just like Nemisis told me._ He was just a unneeded extra part of something big. What if—-he thought. _What if I was never meant to be on this quest_? Nico had come out in the Prophecy, so he wasn't needed.

_But what about Cynthia?_, he wondered. She had just tagged along, and no-one had stopped her. Cynthia was a very quiet girl, but Leo knew better. A very knowing expression would take over her face at times, like when they landed in Old Rome, or when Annabeth and Percy had fallen into Tartarus.

It was such a shame she fell in, too. But Leo felt something else. Like, something else had happened there, in the Spider's Chamber...

He shook it off. What's done was done. He studied his control panel. Festus swiveled his head up to look at Leo. _Kon-ker, kon-ker..._ What the heck it a-A monster!

Leo looked up ahead. Sure enough, a large black shape loomed ahead. It was a hellhound.

Leo sounded the alarm, which he'd installed a few days ago. Everyone clambered up to the deck and fanned out in front of him.

Piper had bags under her eyes. "What is it, Leo?"

Leo pointed, and everyone's gaze traveled upwards.

Nico hobbled forwards. "We're nearing the Doors of Death. More and more monsters will be after us from here.

Leo nodded. They had been avoiding daily attacks. It was all running, not attacking. They now had a baby Hydra, a swarm of Harpies, and a Minotaur on their tail.

"We can't run from this. We have to fight," Hazel stepped up.

Leo groaned inwardly. One of the reasons they had been running and not hiding was because they couldn't think of a good-enough plan. The first time they had tried to attack the Hydra without Annabeth, Percy, or Cynthia, Hazel had gotten a bad burn on her leg. Ambrosia had done all it could, but it still hadn't healed properly.

"We need to think up a plan," Jason said.

"Yes, thank you Jason," Leo said, "For pointing out the OBVIOUS."

Nico leaned in close to Leo. "From here the endless stream of monsters will start. There are three Gates to pass until the Doors. I can sense it. The Orthrus is at the First Gate. Monsters are always swarming around the the Gates. Every time we pass a Gate, the monsters we encounter will become much more ancient, much more dangerous, and much more powerful. Death wreaths around all of them. Some parts of their body are not fully reformed yet. Take that as an advantage." With that, Nico whisked back belowdecks.

Leo snorted. Give advice but don't help. Great.

Leo looked closely at the hellhound. It was giant, the biggest hellhound Leo had ever seen. It's eyeline was level to the Argo II, and the Argo II was hovering about 20 feet in the air. It didn't seem to be in a hurry to catch them. It seemed to be just sitting there, waiting for them. An endless black mist stretched out behind it. Nico was right. If they killed this monster, they would be closer to the Doors of Death...Closer than they'd ever imagined.

Leo took a breath, and faced his crew-mates. They stared quizzically at him. He didn't address them often.

Ignoring their accusing stares, he started to talk. "Okay. So Nico just told me that some parts of the hellhound aren't fully reformed yet. We can use that as an advantage and-"

"Leo?" Hazel was raising her hand slightly.

Leo blushed. Did he have a smudge of oil on his nose? Was his hair blowing up, flying in all directions? Maybe it was his clothes, covered in soot. He hadn't had a chance to-

"Exactly what part of the monster isn't reformed?" Hazel was cocking her head, her eyes inquisitive.

Leo blushed harder. Why had he thought of _that_ at this time of moment? He cursed himself, and was about to answer, when he realized he didn't know. "Well, it would help if I knew what kind of monster this is. Then I could use the computer installed in my control panel to search through the archives and-"

"It's an Orthrus, a monster like a hellhound but more powerful than one," Piper was talking now. "Annabeth told me once when she was tutoring me at Camp Half-blood, about mythological monsters."

Leo nodded. "Okay." He turned and quickly searched 'Orthrus' on his computer. He quickly read through the facts, and looked up to inspect the giant hellhound now looming 15 feet in front of them. It had black fur, same as the image...Four large washing-machine sized paws, a 25-feet long body, but something was missing...

He squinted at the screen, 'ALL ABOUT MONSTERS FROM A TO Z'. He tried to ignore the little smiling minotaurs and the grinning hydras on the edges of the screen. They kept saying helpful things like, 'IT HELPS IF YOU READ THE DESCRIPTIONS!', and, 'TRY SEARCHING ON OUR LINK IF YOU CAN'T FIND YOUR MONSTER!'.

Aha! He found the difference, checked the real thing one last time, and turned back to the four demigods. 'It's tail-it's serpent tail hasn't formed yet!' It was hard to talk, and he had to yell to make himself heard over the roaring of the Argo II's damaged engines.

They were right in front of the Orthrus now, and Leo turned around to see a giant dog glaring down at him. It a large squinty bloodshot eyes that seemed to pierce him. It snarled, and Leo could almost see the stink fumes curling out of it's mouth. It smelled like rotting flesh and dead elephants.

Leo grabbed his Wii controller and jerked it upwards. The ship hovered over the Orthrus.

"Jason!," Leo yelled, but Jason was already jumping off, his _gladius_ unsheathed, and trying to spear it's eyes. Everything came naturally to him now, and Leo didn't even have to tell his crew-mates what they had to do. It seemed as if they could understand each other without words.

Jason had pierced one of the Orthrus's eyes, and it howled in anguish. It snarled and looked up, only to have it's head and body pelted by clear sharp diamonds curved like daggers. Hazel was on the deck, with her arms raised.

_It's your turn, Leo,_ came Hazel's voice, clear in his mind. His eyes met hers, and he nodded. They would work as a team. All of them.

He set the ship on hover mode and leaned over the deck, and raised his arms alongside Hazel's. He let a burst of flame shoot out, and directed the white-hot fire onto the Orthrus's back. It lit up like oil. He saw oil pouring out of Hazel's hands, and grinned. Oil came from underground. Hazel could control all precious elements underground.

Leo kept throwing fire, and Hazel kept fueling it. Jason came back onboard, gasping for breath. Smoke was filling the air, and the monster seemed to swell. Leo saw the base of it's tale twitching, and a tiny snake tongue flick out, but it was too late for it to form again. The monster disintegrated all of a sudden, exploding in a yellow powdery dust, covering Leo in a fine layer of whitish sawdusty things. _Monster dust..._

Leo gasped, and fell back onto the deck, his body drained of energy. Hazel was looking no better. Piper and Frank rushed back on deck, and left Nico to tend to Jason belowdecks. Leo stood up shakily, and gripped the Wii controller once again. He had to control the ship.

Ignoring the stars flitting in his vision, he started to command the ship upwards. He could see, out of the corner of his eye, Piper watching ahead, bracing herself for the darkness and danger they were about to go into.

Leo led them straight into the blackness, and a cold shiver passed through his body. A cold air stung his nose, and he looked around, seeing nothing. He felt a terrifying emptiness for a moment, then relaxed as the black mist dissolved, and he saw his surroundings again.

But what he saw was much worse than not seeing anything. Leo almost wished he was back in the black mist again, to block his vision. All around him, there were piles of bones. Rotting human bones..._demigod_ bones. A cold cruel laughing filled his ears.

He blinked, and the vision was gone. Somehow, he knew, that everyone else had seen the vision, too.

It was a kind of warning. A kind of Caution.

They had entered the First Gate.

**Well, I'm trying my best to imagine what the trip to the Doors would be like. I imagined that it would be...well, shattering, in both mind and body. **

**Hope you liked it! Please review, and give me your thoughts and advice! **


	13. Hades's Garden

**Finally Hades's palace. **

**Please read and review! Questions, advice, and requests are welcomed! **

**Special thanks to Smiling Sunflower, for being my latest follower! **

**Disclaimer: ****I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus. **

**Hades's Palace**

Annabeth's POV:

Annabeth scrambled up a small heap of boulders after Cynthia. Percy's sister was still weak, but she was the strongest of them.

Annabeth looked up to see cold, dark, empty blackness. Cold. Colorless. Rock. She sighed.

Annabeth really missed the sky. She forgot what it was like to see blue. There were clouds, and the sea. At camp Half-blood, Percy and she would lie down together on the beach, and listen to the waves. Those were the happiest moments of her life. _When she was with Percy... _

Even though Percy was right behind her this very moment, it wasn't the same. No crooked grin, no laugh. Tartarus was hardly laughable.

_Camp Half-blood_... She really missed Chiron. Her mom, her dad...

The only colors here, down in Tartarus, was black, silver, gold, white, and red. The color of blood.

Her arm still seared from the battle with the automaton. She had burned it slightly, but even 'slightly' was white-hot. She hated herself for not packing Ambrosia into her pack. She winced as another pain shot up her bad arm.

Cynthia looked back, checking on her. Her black-brown her was tangled and dusty. The silvers fringed around her bangs were hardly audible. Annabeth winced again.

There were three, parallel streaks of gold on Cynthia's left cheek. Three scars to be exact, running upwards diagonally from below her left ear. Embedded in the Imperial gold from the dragon's claws, it stopped a few centimeters from her eye.

Bad memories flooded Annabeth's mind. Cynthia had thrown herself into Tartarus for her and Percy. She had earned that scar by taking a blow that was meant for her brother. When he had been trapped under the monster's grip, she had knocked him aside, securing his escape. _But not hers. _

Annabeth sighed, and Percy gripped her hand as they crawled over the last of the boulders. He hauled her up, and she stood. She smiled at him. Percy smiled back.

No matter what happened, they would stay together.

Cynthia turned back. "Good news. Hades's palace is right there."

"And the bad news?," Percy asked. Annabeth braced herself. There was always bad news.

"We're gonna have to pass through the Orchards of Persephone. From there, your visions will get worse." Cynthia's voice was grave.

Annabeth sighed. She hated Tartarus. It wasn't just the monsters, it was the _visions_. Terrible. Just terrible. And strange unwanted voices would coax her into a state of confusion...

Percy gripped her hand, and she looked up at his face. His sea-green eyes were bright with color, and were full of determination. "We made it this far. We'll make it a bit more."

Annabeth nodded, and started treading after Cynthia, in the lead once more, with Percy next to her.

The treck for 15 minutes seemed like an hour. They were now at the entrance to the garden leading to Hades's palace. The gates were obsidian-black, and creaked open without pushing. Percy stepped in, with Annabeth and Cynthia behind. Cynthia, supporting her.

_It was unnerving_, Annabeth thought, as she took the first few steps. There were silver poplar trees, and bright green bushels of mint. Many once-was Hades's wives, which Persephone scorned.

_It was strange_, Annabeth thought, as she traveled deeper into the garden. Pomegranate trees started to replace the silver, delicate relics of Hades's wives. She thought she saw something flicker on the edge of her vision. She would turn around, but see nothing. Misty figures wreathed through the pomegranate trees, but Annabeth couldn't see them properly.

_It was pleasent_, Annabeth thought, as she made her way deeper into the garden. She started to see heart-warming visions of her family. Everything she loved. She saw Luke, smiling at her, his hair golden in sunlight. She saw her mother, sitting beside her father, no longer crazed from the effects of the Romans. She saw a rebuilt world, all that she had designed. Why couldn't everything be like this? Happy, warm, eternal...

_Maybe Tartarus isn't such a bad place, after all? _It was in the Underworld, and good souls came to the Underworld... Annabeth grew less aware of Cynthia's back, as she made her way throughout the garden. She could no longer feel the warmth of Percy's hand as she walked alongside him.

_No_. Something was wrong. Annabeth blinked. She blinked again. She still saw Luke, her rebuilt world, her mom, her dad. She felt trapped. Her head felt fuzzy. She turned around, but saw no-one. Deadly beautiful pomegranate trees wreathed around her, their branches like gold, trapping her vision from reality.

"Percy? Cynthia?" Where were they? She turned around again. The light was dimming. She couldn't see the garden now. She was floating, racing towards her mom, her dad, her dream... It felt so good. She never wanted to leave this world. This world of perfection. Such perfection...

_NO!_, her mind screamed. _I don't want to go! NO!_ It was no use. She was trapped. Trapped inside her own body. She tried to resist. She tried to stop. In a last desperate attempt before she fell unconscious, she thought of Percy. His sea-green eyes, his laugh, his jet-black hair... Then there was nothing.

_No..._

**Well, I hope you liked it! **

**Review, please! **


	14. Hades

**So, um, I'm sorry if getting to Hades's palace took too long, but Annabeth and Percy made it! So, um, yeah... I'll just, get on with the story. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus. **

**Hades**

Percy's POV:

"Annabeth? Annabeth!" Percy was getting desperate. For ten minutes he'd been lying at his girlfriend's side, trying to wake her. For ten minutes he had been enduring the pain of seeing no warm, gray eyes. No 'Seaweed brain' comments. No, nothing. Only his own voice, echoing eerily in the infirmary of Hades's Palace.

Percy thought the infirmary was supposed to make you feel safe, so that people who were hurt would heal faster, but Hades obviously didn't put 'comfort' into account when he designed this place.

Percy had been seeing strange visions as he made his way through Persephone's Orchards. He had seen his mom, and his dad, happy. He had seen Paul. He had seen Camp Half-blood, completely safe, and Chiron, smiling. He had known he was losing himself through those visions, but was helpless to stop them. Only when he had seen a vision of Annabeth, and he had looked hard at her face...the _real_ Annabeth's face, he had snapped out of his visions.

But then, Annabeth had suddenly disappeared. Gone. She had drifted away into an orchard of trees. He was still touching her, holding hands, but her mind had, literally drifted away. Percy had tried to go after her misty shape, but Cynthia had held him back, telling him that touching a pomegranate branch would be fatal. There was no way to go after Annabeth without scraping his body on one of those millions of delicate, thing branches. _But t__hen how will ANNABETH survive!?_, he had wanted to ask her, but Cynthia had already run to Hades's palace for help. Percy had resisted all the misty souls that had tried to take over his mind, but only just. By thinking of Annabeth.

"Will she be okay?", he croaked. His voice came out wobbly, and broken.

His sister nodded. "I think...She'll be alright. I've done all I could, but, I'm not exactly at full-power, either."

"But we're running out of time!" Annabeth would only be able to stay here for one night before they would have to set out again. _But for what?_

"I've talked to...Hades about the Doors. He refused, but I was going to try to convince him again after visiting Annabeth. Will you come?" Cynthia turned pleadingly at Percy. Her green eyes shone brilliantly despite her gritty face and dirty hair. "Please? I don't know why, but...I have a feeling Hades would be more convinced to come if _you_ asked him."

Percy nodded, trying to ignore the three golden streaks on his sister's left cheek. He felt a pang of guilt. He shook it off. "Do you think we should give her more ambrosia?"

Cynthia shook her head. "That will numb her pain too much, or burn her up." She talked slowly, as if she were talking to a five-year-old. Percy realized how stupid his question actually was.

Percy nodded slowly, and turned back once more to touch Annabeth's cheek, softly. She was pale, and her blond hair looked dully gray, but Percy didn't care. She would always be beautiful to him. "Please be okay, Wise Girl," he whispered into her ear. She didn't answer. Percy swallowed a lump in his throat, and turned back to Cynthia.

She gave him a sad look, and motioned him to follow as she swept out of the dark infirmary.

The doors to the throne room creaked open, and a cold draft hit Percy, right in the face. Cynthia stepped in, and he did the same. He looked around. The last time he'd been here was when he was 12, retrieving the Lightning Bolt for Zeus. It hadn't changed much.

Skeleton guards stood by Hades's throne, which looked like it was made of white marble. Next to him was a pale-but-beautiful woman with chocolaty ringlet hair. He recognized her; Persephone.

"Bow!," came Cynthia's whisper, breaking into his stop-and-stare trance. Percy immediately ducked down and looked at the floor.

"RISE, AND STEP FORWARDS." His uncle's voice came booming from across the hall. Strong, and cold. It thrummed Percy's body, all the way to his fingertips.

Cynthia walked a few feet, and Percy followed. She stopped 3 meters from Hades, who was human-sized, luckily. Percy looked up. Hades's cold, empty face glared back at him. He looked just like his skeleton guards, only with some flimsy strings of hair on his head.

"SPEAK."

Percy wet his lips, and was about to ask what kind of shampoo made Hades's hair so greasy, when Cynthia cut in. She shot him a look that obviously said, _just shut up_, and spoke.

"Lord Hades, I have come back."

Hades snorted, but Cynthia went on.

Percy's mind wandered, and he looked around without moving his head as much as he could. He realized that hades was sitting on a throne of _human skulls_. He gulped. Some of them still had green rotting flesh and mold on them. _I hope I don't end up like __that. _Percy grimaced. He would be lucky if he did, considering what he was going to go through on the rest of his quest.

"Uncle, I have said this many times, but we need your help. I will not repeat what I have already said about the journey, as you already know, but one of our team is dying."

That struck Percy. _Dying_!? That's not what Cynthia had told him! She had said that Annabeth was just in a state of shock, and that she would recover. _You LIED!?_, he wanted to scream.

_I had to. I'm sorry. I had to let you keep your faith_. Cynthia's voice reached his mind, as clear as if she were talking to him with her voice. Percy was too depressed to wonder. It was all he could to keep his mind on what Cynthia was saying.

"Lord Hades, the Doors of Death must be closed. You of all the Olympians must _know_ that. Olympus's enemy is your enemy, is that not so?"

Cynthia was pleading, looking up to Hades's thin, pale face for a reaction. Hades growled, and spoke. Softly, this time.

"My fellow gods do not wonder about me. They do not think I would ever feel any emotion, staying down here after so long. But they are wrong. I do feel things. I feel anger. My brothers have never done anything for me before. Why should I do so for them now?"

Uh-oh...

"_Because_, Hades!" Percy heard his own voice ringing through the throne chamber, loud enough to equal Hades's. Cynthia looked pale. _I won't mess this up_, he promised himself. "Because," he continued. "The whole of Olympus is your family. They are your fellow gods that you've ruled over mankind for over thousands of years. Olympus won't live-YOU won't live, if you let Gaea take over the world. Even if she let you remain, you would be known as the traitor god, uncle. Your name will ring through the legends as the most despicable ever. 'Olympus fell because of Hades'. Do you really want that?"

Percy took a breath. This was for Annabeth. He spoke in a soft voice now. "You said before that other gods felt that you didn't have any feelings. They thought that you were this...wall of stone that wouldn't show any emotion." Percy kept his own thoughts to himself-the fact that he thought Hades was exactly what he had just said...a stone...unemotional wall. Of white.

"You said that they were wrong. You said that you did feel things. You said you felt anger." he paused, and continued, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Cynthia staring at him hard. No emotion. "But I don't think so. Every living thing has emotions, no matter how deeply hidden they are. I believe that you will fight for Olympus, Uncle. Please. My friend-who means everything to me-is dying. Can you just heal her and take us to the Doors of Death? That's all I'm asking. If we-I mean, _when_ we succeed, I'll be sure to inform the council of your...um, heroic actions."

Hades was scratching his broad white expanse of a chin. Pride meant everything to the gods. Percy knew he had struck a nerve.

"Are you..._sure_?Of informing the council, I mean." Hades stared at him questioningly, with hunger in his eyes.

"Yes. I'm sure. I'll do it, I swear," Percy answered, trying to ignore the mad light flickering in his uncle's eyes.

"I don't know..." Hades's was declining. Percy felt desperation filling up inside him like water in a bucket. He caught his sister's eye. _Your turn_.

Cynthia nodded. "Please, Uncle. You won't have anything to lose." Percy felt himself nodding, even though she wasn't talking to him directly. Then it exploded in his mind. _Charmspeak! _Cynthia was using CHARMSPEAK on a god. So _that's _why her voice sounded so familiar just now! It was the same tone Piper used when she was trying to convince someone to do something for her!

_Are you crazy!? Using charmspeak on a god!?_ He tried to catch Cynthia's eye, but it seemed she was deliberately looking away. _She doesn't like using her powers to trick people_, Percy realized.

Silence took over the throne room. The skeletons stopped clattering their teeth; for that, Percy was glad. It unnerved him. But this eerie silence would decide his fate. It was either die, or suffer. As long as if he suffered, he would live...Maybe being dead wouldn't be so bad. He would try his best to go to Elysium, and stay with Annabeth. There would be parties everyday, and no more quests, and-

"ALRIGHT!" Hades broke into his thoughts once more, crushing his dreams of Elysium. "I WILL GO WITH YOU. BUT ONLY IF-" Hades looked pointedly at Percy. "IF YOU KEEP YOUR SIDE OF THE PROMISE." Hades stepped off his throne. "We will leave later today. My wife will go fetch you."

**I know this chapter wasn't so good, but please review. I haven't got much recently... :/**


	15. Troubles

**Okay, I read the official sneak peak for House of Hades, and I thought I'd trace my story by that first chapter, so here it is! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus. **

**BTW: Thank you, everyone, for the reviews! (even though it's been a while) **

**Troubles**

Piper's POV:

Piper sighed, sad down, and looked around. Everyone was looking nervous, their eyes darting around as if they were expecting some monster might come crashing through the walls. For all they knew, it was possible.

Piper's brain was still trying to digest all what she had seen in the past few hours. The First Gate, the Orthrus, the mountain gods... It was too much. Piper couldn't think right.

Annabeth... Piper regretted thinking it as soon as a vision of Annabeth, with her gray eyes and glare, popped into her mind. How much Annabeth had sacrificed for them...

After they'd entered the stupid 'First Gate', they had some crazy ancient mountain gods-_numinae_. They had thrown gigantic bits and pieces of their own mountains at the Argo II and their crew, the ship and the mast had been badly damaged. It would be hard to replace it, with the time limit and all. They would have to get to Epirus within three days...

Piper looked towards Jason, who was sitting across the mess hall table from her. He just stared down. The air was thick with agitation.

Frank broke the silence. "So, um...what do we do now?" Frank's voice wavered. "You-you called us, right?" Frank was fingering his butter roll, tearing off bits, but not really eating it. Piper nodded. After a few hours to recover in each demigod's private room, Nico had called an emergency meeting in the mess hall. Something was up.

Nico stood up next to Jason. "Well." Nico fingered his silver skull ring before answering Frank's question. "Leo, Hazel, and I have been...talking."

Piper frowned. Should the Argo II members have meetings while others did not join? It didn't seem right.

Nico walked over to the large map of the Mediterranean Sea on the wall, and pointed to the green dot that signaled where they were. It was a large version of the one Leo had installed in his head computer up on deck.

"So we need a plan," Nico said. "We'll have to cross this mountain range some time, and we'll have to choose when. Now, we've decided that we need to restock our supplies, and that-"

Jason interrupted. "Woah, woah, woah. Wait." Piper snapped her head back, and stared right at her boyfriend, but he shook off her beam of emotions as easily as if she-and her feelings-mattered nothing to him. Jason pushed his chair back and stood up, glaring, and his rage swept over Hazel, Nico, and Leo. "You decided all this without us!?"

No one answered. Piper could only just stare. She had never seen Jason this angry. It was almost as if all the pain, all the sadness, all the anger he had ever felt had just spilled over, as a large, angry hot wave of rage.

Hazel tried to reason. She stood up, but slowly, and spoke. "Jason, please. We didn't want to worry you-any of you, with the truth. We thought it might be better if we talked among ourselves, first." Hazel's gaze was frighteningly calm, and it landed on Piper.

Piper stood up as well, and stared right into her boyfriend's eyes. "Jason, Hazel's right. They acted because they thought it was best." No fight should break out now, when they most needed cool heads and ideas.

But it was no use. Piper's diplomatic, calming voice wouldn't work on Jason. He glared right at Hazel, and hissed, "Don't you see!? We're being disbanded! All that working together, it just won't work without two of us."

This time, there was a silence so thick Piper thought it would never end. Frank's pants were littered with white pieces of bread now, and he was reaching for more butter rolls.

It was the first time since Rome that anyone had brought up the talk about Percy and Annabeth. It was just too sad, no one wanted to be the one to remind the crew of their loss. No one had gotten over the fact that their two most important crew members-Percy and Annabeth-were gone. It was like a deep wound that would never heal.

"It just won't work...," Jason repeated, only this time there was no anger. He just slumped down into his chair. He had said what he needed to say.

Piper stood up, crouched down next to him, and started stroking his arm. She forgave him.

Silence. Piper really hated that silence now. It unnerved her, and the silence-in her mind-symboled the loosening of the bond the crew had once shared. No one talked. It was all silence.

"Well..." Leo started to say something, but his voice was swallowed up by the silence.

Piper wanted to say something, too. But for once, she had no courage anything she said would calm anyone. She bit her lip and kept silent, staring around the room. Heads were down, and where they weren't, emotionless faces stared into empty nothingness.

No one spoke. For a while.

Suddenly, Piper heard a noise. It sounded like rocks clattering against wood. Really fast. As if some animal was running. Hooves...A horse?

Piper heard something clatter onto the deck, with the same heavy footfalls of a horse.

Hazel stood up suddenly. A wild light danced in her eyes. "Arion!" she breathed.

"What?" Nico asked.

Hazel practically pushed him over as she raced to get to the deck. Frank raced after her. Jason leaped upwards with surprise, and started to follow Frank. Piper chased after him, leaving Leo to explain to Nico all about Hazel's magic horse.

By the time Piper got to the deck, Hazel was already nuzzling noses with her favorite horse, while Frank was gingerly patting it's neck. Arion was breathing hard, as if he had run a really long distance.

Jason just stared. Piper looked back and saw that Leo was leading Nico onto the deck, explaining all about Hazel and Arion. Nico's lips were moving, but he wasn't really saying anything.

There was a buzz of excitement, contradicting the extreme silence they had experienced just a few moments ago. Hazel held up a finger to her lips for silence. Her face was serious.

"I think Arion wants to tell me something."

**So, sorry I haven't exactly been posting twice a week, like I chose to, when I started FanFiction, but please forgive. I've been...busy. **


	16. Through the Underworld

**Please read and review! Sorry I couldn't post for a while. Please forgive me... **

**I would like to thank Obsessivebookdiva, for reviewing and putting me on his/her favorite's list! ...and giving me an idea! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus! **

**Through the Underworld**

Percy's POV:

They were racing through the air at an amazing speed. Percy tried to look back to check on Annabeth, but every time he did, it felt like his head was about to blow off. Next to him, Hades was grinning crazily, as if the wind disfiguring your face were...exciting.

They were riding Hades's black chariot, with human skulls and bones decorating the rims. Some of them still had flesh and mold on them, just like the ones on Hades's throne. Two skeletal horses pulled the chariot.

Percy ducked down behind the chariot, and felt the wind instantly die around him. He crouched down next to Annabeth, who was staring into space, her gray eyes cloudy. Percy had wanted to wait until Annabeth had completely recovered from her trip through Persephone's pomegranate orchards, but there had been no time. The Doors were waiting to be closed, and more and more demigods would suffer until it were.

Cynthia sat down too, and crossed her legs. "How is she?"

Percy looked back down at Annabeth. He felt her forehead. "Her fever's down, but she doesn't look so good..."

He felt Annabeth shivering next to him. He wrapped his arms around her, and she gripped his hand like it was the only thing that mattered in the world.

Cynthia frowned. "She should be okay by now. We shouldn't have left the palace so soon."

Percy nodded. "But she'll be okay, right?"

There was silence. They were heading towards the depths of Tartarus. Even if Annabeth recovered, there would still be more obstacles to come.

"I promise Annabeth will survive this." Cynthia put a hand on his shoulder determinedly.

Percy tried to hide his pang of guilt. Cynthia was too loyal to him. He didn't deserve it. Percy had a feeling his sister would be willing to endure torture for him if it meant he would live. There was the three streaks of gold embedded into her skin to prove it. The blow she had taken for him. He made a silent promise to himself that _he_ would be the one to close the doors. No one else.

They kept speeding. Percy got used to the wind roaring in his ears. He had been thinking back on all the happy days he and Annabeth had spent together before the Second Great Prophecy, when the chariot started to slow down. Curious, Percy looked up.

He wished he hadn't. Half-dead souls and spirits of monsters were lying everywhere. Their eyes were empty, and a sickly yellow light poured out of them faintly. They stumbled around in a haze. Hades kept his eyes up. Percy looked where they were going.

There was a palace, but not grand like Olympus or Hades's. You could hardly call it a palace. It was dark, and craggy, built into the side of a mountain that appeared to be dead. As they drew closer and closer to the large structure, Percy started to hear the moans and wails of pain that seemed to erupt in his ears.

He felt Annabeth shudder, and wake up. He looked down and tried to smile at her. "You okay?"

Annabeth was deathly pale, but a determined light shone from her eyes. She nodded. "I'm ready."

Ready to let go? Ready to die?

The chariot stopped completely. Right in front of the looming tall doors of the craggy palace. Hades look back at them. "I can't take you any further."

_Can't, or won't?_, Percy thought bitterly. He felt genuinely frightened now. They were IN Tartarus now. He could feel it. At some point they had stepped out of Hades's realm and gone into Tartarus. Hades could control little here. He got off the chariot, and Annabeth stepped of with him. Cynthia got off too, and surveyed her surroundings.

Hades drove off without a second look.

There was silence for a while, except for the howling and moaning of the once-were mighty spirits of Titans and gods. Percy took a breath. "Let's go."

Annabeth nodded and gripped his hand. Cynthia, on his other side, fidgeted.

Percy lead them to the large doors. He felt uncertain from there. "So we just, like, knock?"

Cynthia shrugged. "Go for it."

Percy raised a knuckle, and rapped on the door. No one answered. He rapped again. This time, a creaking sound came from inside. Percy noticed the doors were opening.

Annabeth seemed to be brought back to her senses. "Step back," she warned. "We'll be crushed."

The doors opened all the way. There was no-one inside. The doors had opened by themselves. Percy went in. His legs were shaking uncontrollably. Cynthia was biting her nails.

Inside was a dank, musty room with no lights. No, room was not the right word. It was a giant Light from outside came in feebly through the windows. Cobwebs hung everywhere. Percy walked around, expecting some monster to jump at him, but nothing appeared.

_Why wasn't anything happening?_ Percy panicked. What if they never found the doors? They would be stuck here forever, and the world would end. Just as Percy was considering calling out a challenge, the first heavy footfalls filled the room.

Percy, Annabeth, and Cynthia grouped together, all back-to-back. This was no practice at camp Half-Blood. They were fighting for everyone, everywhere. More and more monsters came. He couldn't see them, but it was obvious they were there. Inhumane eyes gleamed from the dark.

The first monster lunged. It was in the form of a bag lady with paper-dry skin and swollen joints. It's eyes were blood-red, and blood dripped out of it's mouth, it tried to grab Annabeth, but she sliced the monster clean in half. It exploded into monster dust, but the dust scooted together. A paper-thin wrinkly formed, but Percy stepped on it, and spread the monster dust as far as he could.

The second monster came at them. A giant turtle. It moved faster than he had anticipated. Percy leaped clear of the turtle, and ran Riptide down it's side. It skittered off, and Percy lost grip of his sword. It went skidding off into a corner. The giant turtle turned to lunge at him. Percy dodged to the side. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Annabeth fighting a strange creature, one side of it's body chalk-white, the other side midnight-black.

He was thrown back into battle. The turtle reared up to crush him. He was under it, but couldn't find any weak spots in it's shell. He knew it was pointless to strike the limbs; it would only regrow.

Percy slowly backed away towards his sword. The turtle followed him. Cracks appeared where it stepped. Percy retrieved his sword. He pretended to be exhausted and could fight no longer. The turtle appeared to hesitate, and Percy lunged.

He jumped up, and secured a grip onto the baggy skin of the turtle's neck. He held on with one hand and tried to stab the eyes.

He was just about to poke out one yellow eye when something grabbed him from behind. He was dragged off the turtle's neck and turned to see his attacker. It was the demon with the parched skin that Annabeth had killed earlier.

Percy stabbed it with his sword, and when it fell, he saw what scene lay behind it.

For the first time, he heard the screams. The screams, the wails, the agonizing pain. It was all here. And this was just the beginning. Monster after monster kept coming. Cynthia was fighting, limiting her powers so as not to tire herself. But it was obvious she would hold long. She kept stabbing they would just reform. More kept coming. He saw Annabeth, who, despite her recent condition, was fighting with all her might. But she was still weak and had a nasty cut on her shoulder. She-none of them-would last long.

That struck something inside him. He wouldn't let them die. He would lead them through. He would do this for Annabeth, for his sister, for Camp Half-blood, for Chiron, for everyone. He would live. And he would make sure they did, too.

He abandoned the turtle and ran over to Annabeth. Cynthia joined them. They fought back-to-back.

"Percy!" Cynthia yelled. He could barely hear her. "PERCY! ARACHNE'S LAIR!"

Percy was confused for a moment. Then he got it. He looked down at the floor he was standing on. It was weak, and more cracks were appearing. Annabeth met eyes with him, and he gripped her hand. She understood. Cynthia stood by them, fighting off monsters the best she could.

Together, Percy and Annabeth simultaneously stabbed the blades of their weapon into the floor between them. Together, dagger and sword struck the surface. Large cracks began to appear, and Percy could see a red light beneath them. The floor opened up, and Cynthia spread a energy force around them as the cracks grew larger. It took only a few seconds.

Percy kept holding Annabeth's hand. The floor crumbled beneath them, and his sister's energy shield evaporated. They began to fall. Gaea's laughter rang in his ears. Was it his imagination? Those were his last thoughts before his mind went blank and he became unconscious. He was no longer aware of Cynthia's presence next to him as he fell, or of the monsters that fell around him. Only Annabeth's hand, as he clung onto it as he fell.

**I hope you liked this chapter! I worked pretty hard on it! **


	17. The Second Gate

**Thank you to all my readers for reviewing, following, or favoriting me. I seriously appreciate it. **

**Just so you all know, my fanfiction clock is to also 'beat the clock', as in, finish writing this particular fanfiction story before October 8th, when the real House of Hades book comes out. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus! **

**The Second Gate**

Leo's POV:

Hazel's killer horse was right in front of him. Leo admired this horse for many reasons. One, because it was fast, two, because it was cool, and three, because it was so loyal to Hazel.

Leo liked Hazel in a lot of ways, though he'd never admit it to anyone. He thought she was cute, too, and the way she fanned her face made Leo blush. But Leo kept his thoughts to himself. Hazel had a boyfriend. He would never get what he wanted.

Everyone was quiet as Hazel listened to Arion. He snorted and whinnied. Leo didn't get how Hazel could stand right in front of Arion and not mind the spittle.

After a while, Hazel turned to everyone. Her face was pale. "Arion just told me that we're approaching a break in the mountains."

That was definitely good news. But how had his scanners not detect them? It was strange. Everyone else seemed to sense this, and stayed quiet, always fearing the worst.

Hazel continued. "But. There's a giant fox guarding that entrance. And the numinae are there."

Nico took charge. "That's the second Gate. I can feel it." Hazel nodded in agreement.

Leo went over to the control panel, shoving Coach Hedge aside. He studied the computer screen. There was no sign of a break in the mountains. He thought for a while. "Nico, I don't think we should cross the mountain range there."

"Why not?" Hazel asked. "It makes sense. We can do it."

"Because," Leo said, "The scanners didn't pick it up."

"But just because the scanners didn't pick it up, doesn't mean that we shouldn't go through that break...right?" Hazel asked nervously.

"We should be careful," Leo said, and Hazel was about to nod in understanding, when Frank barged in. "Look, we're gonna have to cross the mountain range _sometime_. Plus, there's no way Arion would lie!"

Leo protested. Arion? Lie? The conversation was just _closing_! Why did this baby sumo wrestler have to barge in and fire up and argument? "It's not like that! I'm just saying we should be careful because there's something fishy about the whole situation! I'm not accusing _anyone_ of lying!"

Frank kept glaring at Leo. Leo was exasperated. What was _wrong_ with this guy!? He felt his body grow hot in embarrassment. Did everybody else think he was accusing Arion of lying, too?

Jason stepped in to defind Frank. "Look, now's not the time to fight. We have to plan. Frank's right. Sooner or later we're gonna have to cross the mountain range. We've got nothing to lose."

Leo couldn't take it. He couldn't believe it. He had only spoken his opinions, and now everyone was against him! "Listen, I'M commanding this ship! **I** MADE it! The ship will break down and be destroyed if it suffers anymore damage to ANY part! We need more time!"

Frank glared harder. "We don't HAVE any time!" Frank sounded out every syllable clearly as if her were talking to a toddler.

Leo felt his hand smoking. He didn't mean on doing it, but he felt his whole body grow hot, only this time, it was for real. Flames began to dance up from his arms, to his shoulders, up his neck. He knew Frank was terrified of fire. He knew it was cruel to do this to him, to threaten him with fire. But he kept on doing it. Frank stumbled backwards, surprised, and only when Jason yelled at him, "LEO! STOP!", he was brought back to his senses.

Hazel was looking horrified at him. Nico looked devastated. "What did you do?" Nico whispered. Everyone stared accusingly at him. Leo didn't answer. He turned back to his computer and started punching in commands, checking on the ship's stability, ignoring everyone's gaze boring into his back.

"Sometimes I think you care more about the ship than us," said Frank, and stalked back belowdecks. Leo snorted. Probably to 'prepare' for the battle expected of the Second Gate. Hazel went after him. That really made him feel empty.

He heard Jason and Nico receding to their individual cabins, too.

Leo knew he didn't belong with them. As much as he tried, he knew he was not really part of the Seven. He guessed it was Cynthia, not him, who was the last of the Seven. Maybe Nico. He was just a mistake. Mistakenly brought on the quest. No one needed him. _A seventh wheel..._ Nemesis's words came back to him.

"No one needs me," he muttered to himself. Even Festus was silent.

He had thought he was alone. But a soft voice came from behind him. "That's not true, Leo."

It was Piper. Why hadn't she gone belowdecks like everybody else? Leo thought that Piper had completely forgotten about him. After all, she had new friends, and a boyfriend. _She_ didn't need him either.

"Leo, everybody cares about you."

"That's where you're wrong," Leo muttered, without looking up from the panel. "Nobody needs me. Nemesis said that herself."

There was silence.

"Don't blame yourself, Leo. It's not your fault."

She had hit a nerve. The secret argument he had kept up inside him ever since Annabeth and Percy had fallen into... Tartarus. Leo knew that everyone had their own reasons and blamed themselves, but Leo knew better. He was a traitor to the gods. He knew it.

Piper touched his shoulder. "Leo..."

Leo resisted. How DARE she try to calm him? She knew the truth; why hide from it? He willed his shoulder to burn. Piper yelped, and pulled her hand back. _Serves her right,_ Leo sneered. He threw Piper aside, pushing her back with his arm. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

A red haze filled his vision. He couldn't see for a moment.

Then, his arm cooled. The fire extinguished. He could see again. He could see. He could see Piper, lying on the floor of the deck, as if she fell backwards. He had pushed her. She was staring at him wide-eyed. Horrified by him. He could feel the pain and shame he held in his soul. He was tired. He couldn't control himself. He melted, sobbing, and curled up into a ball.

Piper came over to him. How could she stand being near him? Leo hated himself. He hated himself for being unable to control himself. He was depressed. He was miserable. He wanted to go home. But he didn't have one.

"Leo... Please...You have to stay strong. For us. For everyone. We're depending on you."

Leo kept his head buried in his hands. "It's just the stress... I can't take it anymore. I can't...I can't live with myself." It was true. He felt that way. He couldn't live. It would take too much effort. It would be quicker to die.

"I know how you feel. But it's just three more days. It'll be all over. Just until we get to Eripus, we need you to stay strong."

That was all she said. Piper stood up, and left.

Leo lay there, curled in a ball, crying.

He stayed there. Five minutes? Ten minutes? He lost track of time.

Then he felt a lurch. He looked up. He wiped his tears away, stood up, and saw what had made the ship lurch. The giant fox Hazel was talking about. He raised a finger to press the 'Alert' button, to alert the crew, but shook his head. He could do this. He could handle this fox.

He set the ship to auto-pilot, and looked down at the fox. The ship would move slowly, but wouldn't stop. He could see the mountains on either side rumbling. The numinae were emerging.

He took a breath, and jumped off the rail, aiming for the fox's back.

The fox raised a clawed paw and swatted at him. The blow hurt. He didn't make it.

**Special thanks to Obsessivebookdiva for giving me an idea for 'Last of the Seven'! **


	18. Hopes

**Thank you to all my readers. I really appreciate you reading my stories. **

**This chapter is dedicated to all the Lazel (Leo&Hazel) fans in the FanFiction world! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus! **

**Hopes**

Hazel's POV:

The ship lurched. Hazel's lurched. Hazel hated this feeling. It was terrible. Monsters, she could fight. This feeling...well, it was completely different. She couldn't control what came out of her. She wished for ambrosia, to settle her stomach, but didn't want to waste it for such a thing as this. Forgetting her anger at Leo, she went up to the deck. She needed fresh air.

She had expected to see Leo there, and was confused when he wasn't. She went up to the rails, and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

The ship lurched again. Hazel opened her eyes, and looked around, curious. It was more like something was _moving _the ship than it actually jolting with turbulence.

Hazel looked down, saw a giant fox, and looked back up again. She realized what she had seen only after she had thought for a moment. She looked back down again, unable to believe her eyes. Hazel reeled. Arion clambered up to the deck, and nuzzled her ear.

"We've arrived at the breach faster than I thought..." Hazel whispered.

She looked around. Where was Leo? He would've sounded the alarm. No one was at the deck, either. That was strange. She looked down at the giant fox. She thought for a moment. Her eyes widened as she both realized and saw what she had suspected.

She could see his limp body, at the paw of the giant fox. The fox was batting at the ship, causing it to lurch. The ship kept moving slowly, and the fox followed. It was _playing _with the ship! It's eyes glittered maliciously. Hazel gulped.

Hazel knew where the all-alarm button was. Everyone did. Leo had briefed everyone on his ship, just in case they needed to man it themselves. No one had payed attention at that time. Hazel regretted this. How empty and uncared Leo must have felt at the time... _Stupid!_ She cursed herself, and brought her thumb down on the red button.

Arion snorted in sympathy, and ran off. Hazel waited as each demigod came up onto the deck. Frank was dressed in armor, carrying a spear. Hazel could tell he was still angry at Leo.

Piper rubbed her temples. "What is it?"

Hazel replied. "We've reached the gates, but...we have another problem."

Nico groaned quietly. Hazel hated to be the bearer of bad news, but someone had to tell them. "Leo's gone to face the fox himself."

There was silence. No one moved. Hazel pointed downwards. "That fox is playing with the ship, and Leo. He's half-unconscious. We have to save him!"

No one spoke. Piper stepped forwards and stood next to Hazel. She turned to face the boys. "She's right. Leo didn't mean what he said...or did." Piper said, looking pointedly at Frank. "He's one of us. We won't leave him-or _a__nyone_ behind."

Jason nodded. "Yeah...," he said, "but...we need a plan." He pointed upwards, and Hazel lifted her gaze.

The numinae were massing. There were at least four on either side of the mountain now. Even more mountains were rising up. It was nothing like Hazel had ever seen. "Oh, my...gods." The numinae were gigantic. They were mountain spirits. How were they going to think up a _plan_ to pass through these gates?

They just stood there, gaping at the enormous being surrounding them. Then Jason got back to his senses. "We'll...have to split up. There are five of us right now. That'll be enough."

_But __it's now riskier than it had ever been before..._, Hazel thought. _Leo made a big difference..._

"Coach Hedge can take care of the ship," Jason continued, "While Frank and I distract the numinae. Piper and Nico can take care of the fox. Hazel..." Jason looked at her. She blinked back. There was only one thing left to be covered.

_Save Leo_.

"...You know what to do."

Hazel nodded. She would make it up to Leo. She knew that's why he had tried to get them though the second Gate by himself...to show everyone he was worth something... Piper caught her eye, and Hazel interpreted as, _Talk to you __later_. Did she know something?

Hazel shook her head.

Now was not the time for pondering. She gripped her cavalry sword, and whistled for Arion. Jason and Frank were already taking to the air, Frank as a griffin. The numinae ceased balling up chunks of their mountains and look up.

In that moment, Piper and Nico jumped off to get at the fox. Hazel was left at the deck, alone except for Coach Hedge, on headphones once again. _He hasn't changed much_, was Hazel's last thought before she swung herself onto Arion and 'jumped' overboard.

Arion raced down the almost-vertical side of the Argo II. He reached the ground. Hazel looked up, and saw Jason and Frank. They were distracting the mountain gods, all right, but they only seemed to be getting madder. The numinae were now throwing their bits of mountains at Jason and Frank.

Frank's wing was bloody, but he was still flying.

Hazel looked—a little bit—lower, and saw Nico and Piper fighting the fox. It was now being terrorized by Piper's knife, and Nico's Stygian Iron sword. It was bleeding everywhere, but was snarling viciously. Hazel tore her gaze away and looked around for Leo. Last time she saw him he was dangling from the fox's mouth. Hazel brought Arion to cross under the fox, swerving and dodging it's legs.

Sure enough, Leo's unconscious body was hanging limply from the fox's jaws. It wasn't letting him go.

Hazel would have to think of a way to get the fox to open it's jaws. But she had the feeling this fox wasn't entirely dumb, either. An intelligent light gleamed from it's eyes.

She thought fiercely. What about getting it to open it's jaws in pain? Hazel thought. She thought about the numinae. She thought about earth. She thought about metal, and jewels. There was a large amount of that in these mountains...

She closed her eyes, and imagined the metals and jewels of the numinae's mountains rising up and clumping above the fox. She dropped the large amount onto the fox. The metal objects fell, piercing the fox. It thudded to the ground. Hazel got off Arion, and got close. It was still alive. It was thrashing, but feebly. Nico finished it off with his sword. Hazel sunk the monster dust, along with the jewels, into the ground. No more re-growing for this monster. She grasped Leo's body and slung him across Arion's back.

"Get back to deck, Arion!" Arion raced up to the deck. Piper and Nico climbed up from the ladder. "How is he?" Nico asked. Hazel cringed. "Not good. He needs ambrosia."

Piper nodded, and raced off to the storage room. Hazel and Nico carried Leo's limp body to the mess hall couch, and lay him there. Hazel gulped.

"You think he'll be alright?"

Nico nodded. "He...'ll be okay."

There was yelling outside, and some crashes. Nico stood up. "I'll go back to join the fight. You stay here with Leo."

Hazel nodded without looking up. She stared at Leo for a while. He looked so peaceful, with his closed lids and shallow breathing... His brown curls were gritty and messy as usual, but they tumbled down to his eyes ever so softly. His skin was burnt and grimy, but you could see how smooth it was, when you looked at that little patch of skin under on his jaw...

"Hazel?"

Hazel jumped, blushing in embarrassment. She had been staring at Leo...and not noticed Piper's footsteps.

Piper looked at her strangely. "Well, I met Nico in the hall. He told me that you would tend to Leo. Here's the ambrosia. They're kinda crumbled, though."

Hazel nodded, and shakily took the ziploc bag including the precious pastry cubes. She opened it, and held it in her hand. Piper hadn't left yet. Hazel didn't know why, but she wanted to feed Leo the pastry cubes in private.

Piper was staring, one foot out in the hall. "You...okay?"

Hazel nodded, blushing slightly. _What's wrong with me? This is not me!_ But she couldn't help feeling a tinge of...satisfaction? As Piper went to join the others again in the fight.

Hazel looked back down at Leo. She stared at him, with no real thoughts gathered in her mind. She blushed again when she realized that she was staring at his lips. _But I'm going to have to open them to feed him the pastries..._

Gingerly, Hazel touched Leo's jaw, and opened it. Leo shivered slightly. _Is he having nightmares?_

Leo looked so much like Sammy... She remembered Sammy's laugh, his jokes, that twinkle in his eye... She remembered his kiss, so soft and so sweet, on that day. Her birthday...70 years ago.

She started crooning softly, and stroking the side of Leo's face, this seemed to calm him, and she set the pastry down in her lap, and held his hand. She used her other hand to open his mouth. His lips brushed against her fingers. Hazel paused, but didn't think it was...unpleasant. It felt...good, actually.

Hazel opened Leo's mouth and was about to pop the pastry in, when his eyes opened. She yelped in surprise and snatched her hand away from his lips. He stared at her. Hazel stared back.

Eventually, the silence got awkward.

"Are you...alright?," Hazel asked. It was the only thing she felt she could say. She felt her face grow hot.

Leo didn't lower or lift his gaze from Hazel's eyes. Hazel looked down, unable to meet his eyes. She just focused on his jaw...his lips again. Hazel blinked. _What is WRONG with me?_

Leo laughed a bit. "I should be asking you that."

Hazel burned with embarrassment.

Leo looked down this time. "I'm sorry I did what...I did."

Hazel felt guilty for not thinking about how Leo must have really felt. She awkwardly shuffled closer to him on the couch and patted his shoulder. "No. I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt that way. I-I realized for the first time how much I would've missed you if you had been gone."

Hazel realized this was true. Leo-somehow-meant a lot to her.

Leo turned to look straight at her. He didn't say anything for a while. Hazel stared back, and realized for the first time how good-looking Leo actually was. He wasn't flashy or strong like Jason, nor quick and powerful like Percy, but she felt...attracted.

_WHAT ABOUT FRANK! He's your boyfriend!_, one part of her mind was wailing.

Hazel shrugged inwardly. Frank was...nice to her, but she felt like she had known Leo for a much longer time. That was ironic, because it was totally the opposite in real life.

Leo smiled at her. "Me too. I would've missed you too." Hazel stared at his face, then blushed _again_ when she found herself staring at his lips. _Again_.

Leo sort of leaned in, and Hazel felt herself being drawn to him. She closed her eyes, and felt first the soft brush of his lips and the sweet smell of his breath, then the surprisingly strong-but-soft press of his lips against hers.

When he drew away, she was disappointed. Leo settled down and lay his body across the couch again. "Do you need...ambrosia and nectar?" Hazel's voice came out surprisingly clear and strong.

Leo shook his head, and grinned at her. Not crazily, like always, but there was a soft, caring light in his eyes. Hazel didn't know that Leo had such a gentle side. She stood up to leave, so Leo could get his rest, but stopped as Leo called her name. She turned, her heart thumping unnecessarily.

"Will you stay here? For me?"

Hazel nodded, almost involuntarily, and went back to Leo, who then closed his eyes. Soon his soft breathing filled the room.

Hazel stroked his curls, with no hesitation, this time.

**Now you all know why this chapter was dedicated to all the Lazel fans. **

**R&R! **


	19. The Other Side

**Obsessivebookdiva! (Free advertising) Check her stories out. **

**Okay, you all thought I was weird in the last sentence. But really. I'm thankful. **

**Anyway, it's time the Underworld group got to the Doors. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians OR Heroes of Olympus! **

**The Other Side**

Annabeth's POV:

Annabeth saw the black ground coming closer and closer at an amazing speed. She was tired of falling through cracked floors-it was like a joke they'd encountered another one.

Her skin was being pulled back tightly, and her hair was flying out behind her. NOT, a pretty sight, she decided. But at least Percy was with her.

Annabeth closed her eyes, bracing for the impact that would be sure to cost her her life, when suddenly, she stopped falling. The air whistling by her ears stopped, and she actually felt her ears ringing from the sudden change. But the monsters that had fallen into this...cavern with her were still screaming. There were ugly sounds, and skin puncturing. Then nothing. She opened her eyes, and saw the ground six inches from her face. She was being suspended in the air, along with Percy, by some air cushion, or energy...blanket. It was obvious how that had happened.

"Don't move," a voice warned. Annabeth nodded, and shared a disbelieving look with Percy. How many times would Cynthia save their lives? One time she was bound to fail... Annabeth pushed the thought out of her mind.

Annabeth stayed perfectly still as Cynthia slowly lowered she and Percy onto the ground. She felt her body get lowered onto the ground.

"Okay. You can get up."

Annabeth got up, and so did Percy. All around them was a sea of yellow powder_. _Monster dust. They were scattered all over the place. Those monsters wouldn't be coming back for a while.

Percy cringed, and rubbed his temples. His jet-black hair looked more brown that black because of all the dirt rubbed into it. "We're close. I can tell, because my headaches are getting worse."

Annabeth nodded. Her head hurt all over the place. Strange images hazed over her vision. She blinked them away. Cynthia spoke. "So...Which way to the Doors?" It was a simple question, but a hard one. Annabeth had no idea where they were.

"Well..." she started out slowly. "We have to get to the Doors. We're definitely in Tartarus now, and the Doors have to be in the deepest, darkest part. So..."

Annabeth turned in a circle. The smell of rotting flesh hit her in the face. There were faint screams. These weren't her visions-they were real.

"We have to go that way." Annabeth pointed in the direction of the screams.

Percy grimaced, and Cynthia shuddered.

"Well, I guess the Doors have got to be closed..." Percy started walking towards the strange noises. "Let's go."

Annabeth nodded, and gripped his hand, and started walking alongside her boyfriend. Cynthia walked a little way behind. With the way she was always isolating herself, it wouldn't be a surprise if she was actually a daughter of Hades instead of Poseidon...

The screams grew larger, the wailing higher, as they neared the 'torture chambers' of the Underworld. Annabeth guessed that these where the places where monster dust went after monsters were killed. Apparently reforming was painful.

Percy squeezed her hand. Annabeth felt her face start to sweat. Cynthia's face was pale.

The only good thing about the reforming monsters was that they were in too much pain to mind them. But sometimes they would swipe blindly at the air, and get too close for comfort.

The howling and moaning got louder. The ground was almost covered in thrashing monsters. The three demigods stepped carefully around them, but sometimes there would be the crunch of...bone as they mistakenly stepped on a limb. It wasn't a joke to kill monsters anymore.

Annabeth panicked for a moment when something grabbed her ankle. She shook her foot free of the grasp, and it evaporated into tiny specks of yellow dust.

Annabeth wondered what would happen if fully-reformed monsters spotted them-it would start a chase for sure. She was staring at three Akhyls, demons of misery, writhing uselessly in the ground, when Percy stopped.

She looked up. "What is it?" Percy pointed ahead. "I can see...the monsters."

Annabeth squinted up ahead. There were gigantic monsters, none that she had ever seen, staying attention in front of a dark black rock wall. "The Doors..."

The Doors were fairly large double-doors, larger than any normal doors, made of what looked like dark gleaming metal. They swung outwards, and a pale flimsy light shone in from 'outside'. _Epirus... _The Doors were glowing faintly purple. They had strange designs etched into it's barred sides. The sinister red light that shined from...something high above made it look even creepier than it actually was.

Annabeth, Percy, and Cynthia had fallen into the largest part of Tartarus-a large cavern with no way back out for anything that wasn't a monster...except for the Doors. Of course there would be a lot of monsters.

Monsters swarmed around them, the ones that were guarding them and the ones that had reformed. The ones that had reformed were clawing at the rock walls, screaming to get out of this dark, black dungeon.

So it was true that the Doors were a highway to get back to the upper world...

They ran out the Doors as a large black river of monster, but no matter how many flew outside, more monster dust just kept appearing, melting up from the ground, making the monsters that raced out of Tartarus endless. Apparently even monsters craved for sunlight.

Cynthia's breathing came fast and shallow behind her, like she was having a hard time getting enough air. Annabeth felt like just giving up right then and there. Percy was staring at the Doors with a hunger in his eyes. His eyes shone brightly. He wanted to get out. He wanted to get home. Annabeth found strength and courage in her boyfriend's eyes. They would close the Doors if it was the last thing they did.

They crept closer to the doors, but stayed at the edges, so as not to attract attention and so as not to be trampled by the stampede of monsters. They were too busy trying to get out of Tartarus to actually notice three very broken-down demigods.

Annabeth had to restrain herself from joining the everlasting stream of monsters, and getting back to the world.

She wondered dully how Camp Half-Blood was doing, then remembered it was at war with Camp Jupiter. And it was their fault... If she failed to close the Doors, everyone would die, not only her.

Annabeth had decided this long ago. That she would let Percy go. That she would sacrifice herself for her love. She knew she had to close the Doors. It was already made up in her mind.

Percy turned to her and Cynthia. "We...need to decide. Who'll...stay."

**Percabeth! Anyone reading this, please tell me who you predict will close the Doors! **

**...it would be totally embarrassing for me if no-one reviewed...**


	20. Losses

**Please read! And review. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians OR Heroes of Olympus!**

**Losses**

Jason's POV:

Leo's outburst had shocked Jason. Leo had never gotten into fights on purpose-he was the type to try and make people laugh and stay funny. He was always easygoing. Jason had never seen Leo so mad.

They had gotten past the second Gate, but just barely. The numinae had brought down several massive rocks onto the hull. Piper had almost gotten killed, and with the ship damaged, they were making unimaginably slow progress.

Jason had a few scrapes, and Frank was alright. Nico seemed to have even more determination, and Hazel had been tending to Leo. But Piper had had the bones in her right leg almost shattered. She was resting in her cabin right now.

Jason went to visit Leo. He was in the mess hall, according to Frank, who was glaring at nothing in particular. He got to the mess hall, and saw why.

Hazel was gently laying her hand on Leo's head as he rested. He didn't seem to be hurt, but he was whimpering and shivering as if he were experiencing a terrible nightmare. He would jerk his foot suddenly, or twitch his fingers, clenching his fists, sometimes enough to draw blood.

"Is he alright?" Jason asked awkwardly. He was aware of the fact that he had stood up for Frank, causing Leo to...want to face the giant fox himself.

Hazel looked up. "He's alright, but he seems to have nightmares. He's woken up a few times, but he has no appetite, and he has these...weird headaches." Hazel looked distraught. Her hair was messily tied in the back, but a few curls were sticking up all over the place.

"You should rest too," Jason insisted. "You look no better than Leo. Might as well get some sleep till dinner."

_Dinner..._ Who would ring the dinner-alarm if not Leo? Jason immensely regretted his stupid actions. _It's my fault..._

Without the two most vital beings on the quest, the crew's bond was crumbling. Everyone stayed in their own rooms. The ship was eerily quiet.

Jason threw one last backward glance at Leo, and went back down the hall to Piper's room.

"Hello?" Jason knocked on the door. No answer. Alarmed, he pushed open the door and went inside. Piper was writhing on her bead, and her mouth was open in a silent scream while Nico fed her ambrosia.

Jason was taken aback by the pain she was obviously in. "Is she alright?," he asked, and stepped closer to his girlfriend's bed.

Nico shook his head sadly. "No one onboard really knows how to treat a nearly-shattered leg."

"You say that as if there used to be a person onboard who could," Jason remarked, just because there was nothing to say. He was surprised when Nico look up at him with his eyes wide.

"But there was." he said, with a quavery voice.

Jason was curious. Everyone on the ship knew first-aid and all, and there was also a Medical emergency class at Camp Jupiter, but no actual medic. The Apollo Phoebus children were always called to tend to the injured. "None of the crew is a child of Apollo."

Nico shook his head. "You know that girl with the dark hair and green eyes?"

Jason nodded. Her name was...Cynthia. That's right. Cynthia. He didn't really get why she was onboard, but she wasn't getting in the way or anything, so he hadn't bothered to ask. She had apparently fallen into Tartarus with Annabeth and Percy. He hadn't thought about her at all. "What about her? Is she a demigod? Whose her godly parent?"

"She's more powerful than any of us."

_Ooookay... _he rolled his eyes internally.

Jason couldn't quite believe that. He couldn't quite get used to the fact that people were on the same level of...power as he was. At Camp Jupiter, he was always the strongest. The leader that everyone looked up to. He brought over a stool from the corner of Piper's room and sat on it.

"She's Percy's sister," Nico said, without looking up.

Jason didn't quite get it. "Tell me why she came on the quest, then."

Nico shook his head. "She wouldn't want you to know. But you're missing the point. She's not only the daughter of Poseidon, she's an Avatar. That means she's a living form of the Elements. She can control Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. And she's got quite a few more magical talents. She's been...blessed, I guess, by several gods. No one really knows why."

Jason rolled his eyes for real this time. "If you say so,"

There was silence for a while.

"So...will Piper be okay? Her leg's _not_ shattered, right? Just broken."

"In a couple of places. We can't put her leg in a splint because the bone's too weak. The pressure of the splint might shatter it completely," Nico answered. He went back to clutching his head and feeding Piper nectar and ambrosia.

Jason stood over Piper, and gripped her hand. "You okay?" he whispered. Piper nodded back feverishly, though it was obvious she wasn't.

_What have I done?_, Jason asked himself. _So many losses... _Two members of the crew were gone, the only one who knew how to operate the ship was unconscious, and his girlfriend was seriously injured.

_Oh, Jupiter, please save us..._

**This chapter is short, because it's just an update for the story. **

**Stay on the lookout for the next chapter, please! **


	21. The Third Gate

**Thank you, all my Followers and Favorites. Even if you're not reading this, I really, really appreciate you guys. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, OR Heroes of Olympus! **

**The Third Gate**

Nico's POV:

Nico couldn't sleep. He was hungry, too. His headaches were getting worse, like his mental chain...link to Cynthia were...straining. Percy and the others must have reached the Doors if Cynthia was this distressed...

After uselessly talking to Jason, he had gone to check on Hazel, then gone to bed. Dinnertime had passed. It was early morning when he woke up.

Nico went down to the mess hall to get a few bites of food before breakfast. It was eerily dark inside. He didn't mind.

He was settling down to eat his Pizza and ice-cream, when a voice came rumbling from behind. "Nico di Angelo, you disappoint me."

Nico dropped his plate and whirled around. He recognized that voice. He automatically lowered his head. "Father..."

Hades appeared from the shadows, arms crossed and with a glare on his face. Somehow his father gave off a weary-and-tired aura. Nico automatically bowed his head. "What have you come here for, Father?"

Hades took no time in answering. He loomed over Nico, and answered, "Your little friends are almost at the Doors. What are you doing, making them wait?"

Nico bowed his head lower. "The Third Gate will be the hardest to pass. Jason may not be enough to fight the battle."

"What about that other demigod? The one that can turn into animals?," Hades asked, looking bored.

Nico grimaced. "They are the only two that can fly. Leo needs to recover. His mind is...damaged, and Piper...she's-"

"SILENCE." Hades's hissing loud voice cut him off. Nico winced. He was in for it.

"The Gods are all in your favor. They do not want to be 'destroyed', or whatever. I don't know what that foolish 'King of the Wind' thinks, but all Persephone's talking about these days is how 'nice' it is of him to send in some Storm spirit horses led by that Jared kid's little friend Tempest..."

Nico's eyes grew wide. A gift from the gods was what they needed to pass through the third Gate...

Hope started to spread through Nico's body again, and his mind grew more determined than ever to win the war.

"You must get to the Doors on time, boy," were Hades's last words before he melted back into the darkness.

Nico just stared for a while, then stood up shakily. He had lost his appetite, and threw his pizza away. His ice-cream was just a bowl of milky liquid now.

He went back to his cabin and got fully dressed, strapping his sword to his side. He had a feeling the third Gate was extremely close, after what Hades had told him.

He went up to the deck and looked around. It was freezing cold, and Nico's teeth were chattering after five seconds in the freezing air.

"Can't sleep, Nico?"

Hazel suddenly appeared beside him. Nico jumped. He wasn't used to getting snuck up on-he was usually the one who did the sneaking.

"Actually, Hades just came to visit me. I'm going to wake everyone. I have a feeling we're nearing the last Gate."

Hazel cringed. "Woah. Wait. Pluto visited you? That's so not fair!" Hazel snorted and pushed him playfully. "Yeah, right. Like I would want _him_ to come creeping up on me." Hazel threw her head back and laughed.

Nico stood still. Was this sarcasm? Nico wasn't used to that... or much laughing while people were around him.

Hazel pressed the Wake-up call button, while Nico tried warming his hands as best he could. "Why were you awake, anyway?"

Hazel was opening her mouth to answer, when Piper came up to the deck, fully dressed, and using a hiking stick to help her walk. Somehow, she had changed into a new purple tank-top and white pants. Her hair was brushed, with a new eagle's feather woven into her braid. Jason was yawning as he came up, and stretched. Frank was breathing into his hands and rubbing them together, shivering.

"Why did you have to call us to the _deck_?," Jason grumbled, smoothing back his superman-blonde hair.

"Uh..." Nico started. "We're nearing the last Gate."

Frank groaned. "But we're in the sky. And the ship's damaged, right?"

Nico bowed his head. "But the Gates...we've got to pass them to get to Greece. It's just one more," Nico said. _And after that, a swarm of monsters..._

"Where's Leo?" Piper was being supported by Hazel, unable to stand by herself for more than twenty seconds. It was a mystery to Nico how she'd gotten dressed in her state. Maybe Aphrodite girls had super-skills when it came to dressing.

"Yeah, where's Leo?," Frank was crossing his arms, no longer aware of the cold. Hazel jumped in to Leo's defense. "He's probably still resting in his cabin. He needs it."

"But how are we-" Jason started, but was cut off by Piper's smoldering glare.

Nico hesitated before saying what he said next. He didn't want to start yet another fight. One which would most definitely cause the crew to disband completely. "Lord Hades visited me for a while, and said that Aeolus, the King of the Winds, is sending us some help."

Jason cocked his head. "I thought the gods weren't allowed to help us on our quest."

Nico shrugged. What did he know about the gods and their ways? "Well, it's not direct. Maybe that counts for something...But it's good news. We need all the help that we need." Nico took a breath. "Listen. The next gate...It's in the sky."

Piper and Hazel gawked. "In...like, the air?," Piper made out, shakily.

Nico nodded. "But King Aeolus is sending us...storm spirits. So those of us who can't fly..." he acknowledged Hazel and Piper, "can fight as well."

Hazel raised her hand, which Nico thought unnecessary, but at Nico's nod, spoke. "But aren't storm spirits...Like, unreliable? They're... spirits, after all, and could disappear right underneath us or something...right?" She broke off uncertainly.

Jason's eyes brightened. "I could call Tempest. She's the storm spirit I befriended when we released Hera from her cage. She'll come if I call."

Nico nodded. "We need all the help we can get." _And more,_ he said to himself.

A few hours later, Nico was standing right next to Hazel and Piper, Hazel riding Arion, and Piper riding a grey misty storm spirit in the form of a horse with a fish's tail. "You sure about this?," he asked Hazel. He still wasn't sure Arion could 'walk on clouds'. "I mean, clouds are vapor, and vapor..."

"Don't worry, Nico," Hazel snorted softly. "I'll be alright. I'm more worried about you, staying here with coach Hedge."

Nico forced out a faint laugh, and walked back belowdecks.

The ship lurched, and threw Nico across the hall. He had to crawl on his hands and knees to his cabin, and barely made it into his room. _How am I supposed to just stay here and let everyone risk their lives?_, he wondered. It had been chosen that two children of Hades was too dangerous to go up in the sky together at the same time. He had been chosen to stay, and Hazel to go...

Mostly because horses hated Nico.

_And it had to be _me _to stay..._ Nico thought bitterly. _I could've ridden a storm spirit..._, but he knew it was no exception. He was just about to get back above deck to see how the 'battle' was going, when there was a knock at his door.

"Nico? You there?" It was Leo.

"Yeah. Come in," Nico answered gloomily.

Leo came in, walking fairly straight for a person who had been crazy enough to jump overboard just a day ago. "How're you feeling?"

Leo leaned against the wall, but seemed to think better as the ship almost threw him into Nico's empty bookshelf. He settled down on a chair.

"Better, I guess. With some ambrosia." Leo was grinning, but he still looked pale. His curls looked bleached, and his presence all fainter.

"Where is everyone, anyway?" Leo's eyes were eerily bright, and his fingers were twitching strangely.

"Uh...fighting. With storm spirits. At the third Gate. I'm not...supposed to join. Because of the Son-of-Hades thing."

"Oh." Leo nodded, and walked out the door.

Nico stared as the door slammed shut, and raced out after him. "Leo!"

Leo was on deck. He stared around him. Nico stopped and stared too. The wind whistled deafeningly by his ears, and he had trouble seeing, with all the snow and sleet flying around. Slowly, blinking fiercely, he took in what was around them.

Clouds.

Below, above, all around. It was like they were incased in a cloud...bubble. But it wasn't all white and fluffy. It was hardly 'Cloud City'. The clouds surrounding the ship and the demigods were grey, and dark. Lightning flashed, but it was a purple flare, not golden, like Jason's. This was dark power.

Two giant grey cloud pillars buzzed with lightning at the very end of the cloud-bubble, revealing an opening. Nico could see the clear blue of the sky. All they needed to do was get across the bubble and go through the pillars... So simple, yet so hard...

Leo ran to the control panel, where coach Hedge was. The little fat satyr was jumping around, yelling insults at anything that got 'too close'. The ship was barely moving forwards.

"You're not making any _progress_, Hedge! Get out of my way!," Leo took control of the Wii handle set and flicked some buttons on the panel. The ship lurched, and Nico skidded to the side of the ship, nearly getting thrust off the deck.

He clung to the rails, and looked around. Hazel and Piper were fighting some dark misty monsters. Their knives and swords did nothing to harm them, and more and more were coming. Nico thrust his head around wildly and saw Jason. It seemed that only Jason's lightning bolts were effective on the monsters. The 'good' storm spirits were circling him, throwing in lightning bolts of their own, just as powerful and deadly as Jason's.

Nico looked around in despair. It wouldn't be enough. But there had to be a way out. There _had_ to.

Nico closed his eyes and thought. He wasn't that great of a thinker, but he tried to think up a plan.

His mind wandered around the ship. The decks, the roof... Nothing. Then his mind wandered to the Athena Parthenos.

The Athena Parthenos.

That was it. The Athena Parthenos would get them through this last Gate.

**I'm sorry I've only been posting once a week. Extremely busy. Test week. **


	22. Dreams

**Good news! Our little demigod friends are finally reaching the Doors! Love you all! **

**Disclaimer: I do Not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians OR Heroes of Olympus! **

**Dreams**

Jason's POV:

Jason felt alive and energetic as he rode Tempest in the sky. He lifted up his sword and called upon another burst of Lightning. The mighty golden streaks hit the blade of his sword. He lowered it and pointed it to the monster spirits around him, and swirled it in the air. The Lightning immediately disintegrated the misty figures and Jason felt a twinge of satisfaction.

He felt _awesome_. The Hero he should be. He felt so powerful and immense he didn't notice Piper being overcome by the demons. He didn't see Hazel getting dragged off Arion. He didn't glimpse Frank being torn out of his giant-eagle form.

He whirled around expertly to battle even more of the shadow monsters, when a blast of purple light hit him square in the chest. He was blown off Tempest, and knocked into the stormy wall of the cage 'bubble', when another blast hit him.

It was nothing like he'd ever experienced. He felt heavy, but his mind was numb. His body hurt, his head most of all, with a headache that seemed to split his mind in two. _Stand _up, he forced himself to think. He desperately got to his feet, and looked around. He saw his friends being dragged off their horses. He saw Piper, his girlfriend, screaming in agony as the storm spirits grabbed her bad leg.

Jason shook off all the fuzzy strange feeling and came back to his senses. He started to run to Piper. He ran over the dark shadows, flew over the air, and dropped from above to Piper's side.

Piper's eyes were cloudy, and her breathing was pale. Her braid was undone, and her eagle's feather was clutched in her hand, along with her dagger. She was feebly stabbing the spirits. So weak that she could barely stay on her horse.

Jason suddenly felt extremely frightened of losing Piper. He loved her, and he wouldn't let anyone take her away. With a feeling of intense power, he thrust his _gladeus_ up to the sky and called down on Lightning.

This time, instead of channeling energy through his sword, his Lightning immediately incinerated the demons around him. Somehow he had gone into a different level of power he had ever experienced. Something was helping him. He felt powerful, renewed with energy.

Piper's eyes had cleared, and she was sitting up straighter on her spirit mare.

Jason looked around for more demons, but no more were attacking. Their 'face's were staring upwards, toward the ship. Jason looked up too.

The Athena Parthenos was perched high on the side of the trireme, radiating a warm glow. Jason felt stronger immersed in it's golden light, and with a gasp of breath, let out another burst of Lightning.

The monsters immediately disintegrated, and the yellow monster dust blew away in the fierce turned to Piper. "Get back to the ship. You're injured. I'll help Frank and Hazel. Tell Nico to keep the statue shining."

Piper's eyes focused again, and she nodded immediately, gripping his hand. "Be careful...Jason."

Jason nodded, trying to seem confident, when he was really worried about his frail girlfriend. "Be safe, Pipes." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and ran to help Frank.

Frank was still in the air. Still in the air, but not for long. As Jason ran up to help him, Frank was strained completely out of his giant-eagle form and started falling like a stone to the stormy cloud floor, which opened up like a gaping mouth right under Frank.

"Frank!" Jason whipped out his sword, and ordered a storm spirit to catch Frank and get him back to the deck.

For a heart-stopping moment Frank disappeared through the cloud gap, which immediately started to close again. Then, at the last moment, the storm spirit came shooting out of the narrow gap, with Frank grasping it's thick misty neck. Jason watched them go, and turned back to the demon spirits.

Jason grinned at them, and thrust his sword up to the sky. A thunder of Lightning hit it's blade, and deflected towards the demons. They crumbled to dust on impact.

Jason started to steer Tempest back towards the Argo II. The Athena Parthenos was still standing. He looked in wonder at the thunderclouds evaporating all around him. The evil gray clouds disappeared, and the pillars, once buzzing with electricity, started to grow whiter and grander. By the time Jason got to the rope ladder it was a set of giant marble pillars as grand as the ones standing in the Great Halls of Olympus.

Jason said goodbye to Tempest, and climbed up to the deck. Piper ran to greet him, which resulted in a big hug and a kiss on the lips. Frank had gone to help Hazel once he had regained consciousness. They were both getting 'treated' by Coach Hedge, while Nico cabled the giant statue back belowdecks and Leo manned the ships.

The moment Jason saw his friends, he realized how worn-out he actually was. Without meaning to, his knees suddenly buckled, and he fell to the deck face-front. The only thing that prevented him from ending up with a broken nose was Piper, who, at the last moment, gripped his shoulders the best she could.

"We made it..."

Jason flipped over onto his back and stared up at the infinitely clear blue sky, gasping, trying to settle his mind.

Piper sat next to him, and gripped his hand. "I'm glad you're okay."

Jason nodded, and slowly sat up. The wind was blowing merrily, playing with his girlfriend's golden-brown hair. He kissed her softly, brushing her shoulder-length hair as he did so.

"Hey, man. Can I interrupt, or is this an awkward state." A familiar cheeky voice came from behind. Jason turned around to see Leo, hands on his hips, grinning impishly.

"Leo! You're okay!" Jason couldn't help but feel relieved for not losing his best friend. "Are you feeling okay?"

Leo rolled up his sleeves, and smirked. "You mean, you don't wanna lose your ticket to Epirus?"

Jason stood up abruptly, alarm in his eyes. "No! I don't think of you as only-", but stopped, as he noticed the amusement dancing in his curly-haired friend's eyes.

"You worry _way_ too much, dude!" Leo did a peace sign with his fingers and turned on his heels. "Brunch in ten minutes!," he called, before dragging Coach Hedge, who was in the middle of trying to pound Frank's leg with a hammer, off Frank, by his hoof.

Jason smiled, and relaxed. He gripped Piper's hand.

They were almost there.

They would make it.

They would find the Doors.

They would get his friends out.

And.

They would close them.

**Keep on guessing who'll close the Doors, please! Can't wait! **


End file.
